INDUSTRIAL 
ORGANIZATION 


STUDENTS' 
BUSINESS  BOOK  SERIES 

Correspondence 

How  TO  WRITE  BUSINESS  LETTERS 
SALES  CORRESPONDENCE 

BUSINESS  CORRESPONDENCE 

THE  SYSTEM  BOOK  OF  STANDARD  PARAGRAPHS 
AND  FORM  LETTERS 

BUSINESS  CORRESPONDENCE  LIBRARY  ( Three  volumes ) 
Advertising 

How  TO  WRITE  ADVERTISING 

ADVERTISING 

GOOD  WILL,  TRADE-MARKS  AND  UNFAIR  TRADING 

BANK  ADVERTISING  METHODS 
Finance 

CREDIT  AND  COLLECTION  METHODS 

How  TO  FINANCE  A  BUSINESS 

CREDITS,  COLLECTIONS  AND  FINANCE 
Buying 

PURCHASING  PROBLEMS— BUYING  AND  HIKING 
Selling 

SALESMANSHIP  AND  SALES  MANAGEMENT 

SELLING  METHODS 

SELLING  METHODS— RETAILING 

SELLING  METHODS — REAL  ESTATE 

SELLING  METHODS — FIRE  INSURANCE 

SELLING  METHODS — LIFE  INSURANCE 
Salesmanship 

PERSONAL  SALESMANSHIP 

DEVELOPING  TACT  AND  PERSUASIVE  POWER 

THE  KNACK  OF  SELLING 
Retailing 

STORE  MANAGEMENT 

KEEPING  UP  WITH  RISING  COSTS 
Management 

PERSONAL  EFFICIENCY  IN  BUSINESS 

OFFICE  MANAGEMENT 

BUSINESS  ADMINISTRATION 

BUSINESS  MANAGEMENT 

PERSONALITY  IN  BUSINESS 
Office  Work 

ACCOUNTING  AND  OFFICE  METHODS 

COSTS  AND  STATISTICS 

THE  COST  OF  PRODUCTION 
Production 

OUTLINES  OF  FACTORY  OPERATION 

INDUSTRIAL  ORGANIZATION 

THE  KNACK  OF  MANAGEMENT 

How  SCIENTIFIC  MANAGEMENT  Is  APPLIED 

MORE  POWER  FROM  COAL 
Factory  Management  (Six  volumes  in  the  series) 

BUILDINGS  AND  MACHINERY  AND 

MAINTENANCE  EQUIPMENT 

MATERIALS  AND  SUPPLIES      LABOR 

OPERATION  AND  COSTS          EXECUTIVE  CONTROL 

A.  W.  SHAW  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS  OF  SYSTEM  AND  FACTORY 
NEW  YORK  CHICAGO  LONDON 


INDUSTRIAL 
ORGANIZATION 


FACTORY  MANAGEMENT 
PROBLEMS  OF  PLANT  AND  EQUIPMENT 

WAGE  PAYMENT  PLANS 
PRODUCTION  AND  INSPECTION 


A.  W.  SHAW  COMPANY 

CHICAGO  NEW    YORK 

LONDON 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
A.  W.  Shaw  Company 

Copyright,  Canada,  1914,  by 
A.  W.  Shaw  Company 


Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 
A.  W.  Shaw  Company,  Ltd. 


Under  the  title 
"The  Library  of  Business  Practice" 


INDUSTRIAL  ORGANIZATION 


I— WORKING  OUT  A  PLAN  OF 
CONTROL 

Editorial  by  William  C.  Redfield 7 

I      APPLYING  NEW  IDEAS  OF  MANAGEMENT  ...  9 

By  Harry  Franklin  Porter,  M.  E. 

II      CHARTING  AUTHORITIES  IN  THE  INDUSTRIAL  BODY  .          22 
By  Clinton  E.  Woods,  Electrical  and  Mechanical  En- 
gineer and  Consulting  Expert 

.     Ill      CENTRALIZING  FACTORY  CONTROL     ....          33 
By  Edward  M.  Stradley,   Factory  Organizer  and  Ac- 
countant 

IV     AUTHORITY  LIMITS  IN  CORPORATION  MANAGEMENT  .         40 
By  Henry  D.  Martin,  General  Superintendent,  The 
I.  E.  Palmer  Company 

V     How  TO  KEEP  TAB  ON  EACH  DAY'S  WORK     .        .         48 

By  Six  Factory  Managers 

VI     How  SCIENTIFIC  MANAGEMENT  Is  APPLIED      .        •         58 
By  Neil  M.  Clark 


II-BUILDING  AND  EQUIPPING 
THE  PLANT 

Editorial  by  William  A.  Field  65 

VII      WHAT  TO  GET  IN  A  FACTORY  SITE  ....          67 
By  Hugo  Diemer,  Professor  of  Industrial  Engineering, 
Pennsylvania  State  College 

VIII     PLANNING  AHEAD  IN  SHOP  CONSTRUCTION        .        .         75 
By  Henry  T.  Noyes,  Jr.,  Secretary,  The  German-American 
Button  Company 

IX     MAPPING  FACTORY  DEPARTMENTS     ....         83 

By  Nicholas  T.  Ficker,  Efficiency  Engineer 
X     How  TO  LAY  OUT  MACHINERY         ...»         96 

By  D.  C.  Eggleston,  M.  E.,  C.  P.  A. 
XI     MAKING  STRAIGHT  PATHS  FOR  WORK       ...        100 

By  S.  F.  Joor,  Conveyor  Engineer 

XII     MAXIMUM  OUTPUT  FROM  YOUR  MACHINES       .        .        107 
By  Henry  M.  Wood,  of  the  Lodge  and  Shipley 
Machine  Tool  Company 

XIII      FIGURING  DEPRECIATION  ON  EQUIPMENT  .        .        113 

By  Herbert  Foster,  Lecturer  in  Yale  University  on 
Problems  of  Business  Management 


308346 


CONTENTS 


III— SELECTING  A  WAGE  PAYMENT 
METHOD 

Editorial  by  Frederick  Robinson   .....  119 

XIV     PAYMENT  PLANS  AND  WHERE  THEY  FIT  .        .  121 

By  C.  B.  Auel,  Director  of  Standards,  Westinghouse 
Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company 

XV     APPRAISING  WORK  BY  TIME  STUDIES        .        .        .        132 
By  F.  G.  Coburn,  Assistant  Naval  Constructor,  U.  S.  N. 

XVI     PAYING  MEN  BY  THE  DAY 141 

By  H.  J.  Minhinnick,  Civil  and  Electrical  Engineer 

XVII     PAYING  MEN  BY  THE  PIECE 146 

By  J.  Eddy  Chace 

XVIII     PREMIUM  AND  BONUS  SYSTEMS         ....        151 
By  W.  Poole  Dryer,  Managing  Director, 
The  W.  Poole  Dryer  Company 

IV— GETTING  OUT  THE  PRODUCT 

Editorial  by  Walter  Davidson  157 

XIX     PLANNING  AN  ORDER  SYSTEM 159 

By  Fred  Bis/ants,  Formerly  Superintendent,  The  Gramm 
Motor  Truck  Company 

XX     STOCK  ROOM  METHODS  THAT  MEET  PRODUCTION  NEEDS      165 
By  W.  Poole  Dryer,  Managing  Director, 
The  W.  Poole  Dryer  Company 

XXI     FOLLOWING  THE  WORK  BY  PLAN  BOARD  .        .        .        174 

By  F.  M.  Feiker 
XXII     MAKING  DELIVERY  DATES  GOVERN  PRODUCTION     .        181 

By  W.  Poole  Dryer,  Managing  Director, 
The  W.  Poole  Dryer  Company 

XXIII  SHAPING  TOOL  ROOM  SERVICE  TO  THE  WORKMAN    .        190 

By  J.  T.  Carpenter 

XXIV  MAKING  QUALITY  AUTOMATIC 194 

By  Daniel  V.  Casey 


SPECIAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

I  PRIME  ORGANIZATION  ELEMENTS 25 

H  CHART  OP  PRIME  AND  WORKING  AUTHORITIES             .           .  27 

III  ORGANIZATION   THAT  FIXES  DEPARTMENT  RESPONSIBILITY  35 

iv  "HOUR-GLASS"  METHOD  OP  CHARTING  AUTHORITY  .   .  43 

V  POINTS   TO   CONSIDER   IN  FACTORY  LOCATION     ...  69 

VI  HOW  TO  PLOT  A  COMPLEX  MANUFACTURING  ORGANIZATION  84 

VII  MAPPING   AUTHORITIES  IN  A   FACTORY         ....  86 

VIII  ORGANIZATION  IN  A  MILL 87 

IX  CHARTING  A  GROWING  ORGANIZATION         ....  89 

X  AUTHORITIES  IN  A  POWER  PLANT 91 

XI  PYRAMID    PLAN  OP  CHARTING  AUTHORITIES        ...  93 

XII  A  COMPACT  MANUFACTURING  ORGANIZATION      ...  94 

XIII  SAMPLE   TIME-STUDY  CHART 135 

XIV  HOW  THE   PLAN   BOARD  OPERATES 177 


PART  I— WORKING  OUT 
A  PLAN 


The  Habit  of  Efficiency 


of  all,  efficiency  is  not  strenuousness. 
The  man  who  hustles  may  or  may  not  be 
efficient;  probably  he  is  not.  Hustling  is  not  a 
normal  element  in  efficiency,  nor  is  strenuous 
work  apt  to  be  efficient  just  because  it  is  strenuous. 

You  work  at  a  lathe  with  the  castings  you  are 
finishing  piled  ten  feet  away.  This  means  stren- 
uous, but  not  efficient,  labor.  To  work  at  that 
same  lathe  with  the  castings  piled  so  near 
that  you  can  get  them  without  moving  from 
your  place  is  less  strenuous,  but  far  more  effi- 
cient labor. 

We  are  familiar  with  the  fact  that  an  over- 
loaded machine  leads  a  strenuous  life.  None  of 
us  will,  if  we  understand  mechanics,  say  that  it 
is  an  efficient  life.  This  is  true  of  men  as  well  as  of 
machines;  true  of  us  as  well  as  of  our  employees. 

We  must  get  rid  of  the  idea  that  strenuousness 
and  efficiency  are  either  similar  or  the  same. 
Driving  is  one  thing;  efficiency  is  something  else. 


WILLIAM  C.  REDFIELD 

Secretary  of  Commerce 


APPLYING  NEW  IDEAS 
OF  MANAGEMENT 

By  Harry  Franklin  Porter,  M.  E. 

IP,  HIGHLY  organized  businesses  are  characterized  by 
one  thing  more  than  all  others,  it  is  the  evidence  of 
.the  exercise  of  plan  and  forethought  in  every  detail  of 
operation.  The  manager  who  does  nothing  without  a 
carefully  worked  out  plan  and  strives  incessantly  to 
conform  his  business  to  his  plans,  has  already  a  scientific 
viewpoint  on  management. 

In  business  and  in  manufacturing,  wherever  the  old, 
unsystematic  methods  still  obtain,  confusion  is  found, 
low  efficiency,  high  production  costs,  a  keen  struggle  for 
existence.  But  where  the  reign  of  common  sense  has 
been  established,  where  everything  has  been  reduced  to 
a  system,  orderliness,  dispatch,  neatness,  system,  smooth 
operation,  high  efficiency,  low  production  costs,  pros- 
perity are  likely  to  be  the  rule. 

Scientific  control  of  work  begins  before  even  a  loca- 
tion is  selected.  Everything  must  be  considered  in  its 
relation  to  and  bearing  upon  production  costs  and  ulti- 
mate results.  If  a  mistake  is  made  in  location,  if  the 
center  of  gravity  of  markets,  sources  of  raw  materials, 
fuel  supply,  labor  market,  and  transportation  facilities 
has  not  been  struck,  the  business  will  feel  the  handicap 
all  the  days  of  its  existence — until  the  mistake  is  rectified. 

If  the  buildings  in  plan  and  details,  in  materials  of 


10 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

construction  and  equipment  are  not  the  most  efficient 
and  economical  in  the  broad  sense — looking  at  final 
economy,  not  mere  lowest  first  cost,  the  business  will 
feel  this  handicap,  too,  until  what  mistakes  were  made 
are  rectified,  either  by  remodeling  or  rebuilding  entire. 
That  managers  are  awakening  to  this  fact  is  evidenced 
by  the  wave  of  remodeling  and  rebuilding  which  is 
sweeping  over  the  country  at  the  present  time.  Managers 
are  finding  that  in  the  gain  due  to  taking  up  the  slack 
and  eliminating  the  "back  hauls "  in  production,  in 
the  saving  on  insurance  rates,  in  the  increased  efficiency 
of  their  labor,  due  to  better  heating,  lighting,  ventila- 
tion and  sanitation,  in  the  attraction  and  holding  of  a 
better  grade  of  help — it  has  been  proved  that  workers 
gravitate  naturally  and  irresistibly  to  the  most  improved 
factories  and  offices — and  in  countless  other  ways  it 
pays  and  pays  well  either  to  remodel  their  present  estab- 
lishments or  scrap  them  and  build  and  equip  new  ones 
completely. 

SCIENTIFIC  management  seeks  to  get  the  most  from 
money,  materials,  machines,  methods  and  men — 
how  to  conduct  finances  and  handle  raw  materials. 

If  early  mistakes  are  made  in  financing,  bad  results 
also  will  follow.  In  fact,  sound  financing  is  absolutely  es- 
sential to  success.  It  is  far  better  to  grow  slowly  than  to 
grow  fast  and  go  into  debt,  if  going  into  debt  means 
surrendering  control.  No  manager  can  have  a  free 
nand  and  push  ahead  as  he  would  like  to,  when  his  plant 
is  so  heavily  obligated  to  financial  interests  that  he  must 
submit  to  their  dictation  every  step  of  the  way  and 
whose  costs  of  production  are  so  overburdened  by  inter- 
est charges  that  he  is  at  a  serious  disadvantage  in  compe- 
tition with  manufacturers  who  are  free  from  bonded  in- 


APPLYING    NEW     IDEAS 11 

debtedness.  At  least  one  automobile  company  has  taken 
advantage  of  its  freedom  from  bonded  indebtedness  to 
make  a  telling  point  in  their  advertisements.  They 
showed  that,  as  compared  with  six  other  companies  pro- 
ducing cars  about  the  same  class  as  their  own,  their 
cars  carried  a  burden  of  nearly  $300  less  per  car.  Con- 
sequently, for  a  less  price,  they  were  able  to  give  equal 
quality.  The  time  is  coming  when  the  success  of  many 
factories  will  depend  on  low  interest  charges. 

It  is  scientific  management  to  finance  so  as  to  entail 
the  minimum  burden  due  to  interest  charges  on  the  cost 
of  production,  as  well  as  to  get  the  most  for  one's 
money  in  buildings  and  equipment. 

As  to  money,  so  in  regard  to  materials,  machines, 
methods  and  men.  How  to  get  the  most  out  of  these  five 
M's  is  the  idea  behind  scientific  management. 

Applied  to  materials  scientific  control  means  first  of 
all  a  strict  accounting  for  every  scrap  of  material  used. 
As  carefully  as  most  businesses  do,  and  all  should,  keep 
track  of  every  penny  received  and  every  penny  dis- 
bursed, so  in  the  scientifically  managed  plant  is  the  bal- 
ance of  materials  kept.  Here  the  manager  sees  as  an  ac- 
countant, for  scientific  storekeeping  takes  its  cue  from 
scientific  cash-keeping. 

All  materials  not  being  worked  on  are  kept  in  storage, 
under  lock  and  key,  in  charge  of  a  storekeeper,  who  is 
held  strictly  responsible.  No  material  is  issued  except 
on  duly  authorized  requisition,  and  what  material  is 
issued  is  carefully  charged  either  to  a  job  order  or  to 
a  manufacturing  expense  account,  so  that  it  all  gets 
into  the  costs,  leaving  no  unaccounted-for  consumption 
to  be  charged  to  profit  and  loss  when  the  yearly  inven- 
tory is  taken.  Each  fresh  receipt  of  material  is  as  care- 
fully accounted  for,  being  added  to  the  balance  on  hand. 


12 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

By  keeping  a  card  record  of  receipts  and  disburse- 
ments of  material  and  by  checking  up  balances  system- 
atically, the  old-fashioned  burdensome  and  expensive 
once-a-year  taking  of  inventory  is  rendered  unnecessary. 

By  fixing  maximum  and  minimum  limits,  an  over 
supply  is  avoided  on  the  one  hand  and  a  shortage  on 
the  other. 

Thus,  by  providing  the  purchasing  agent  with  proper 
specifications  and  inspecting  receipts  of  material  to  see 
that  the  specifications  have  been  agreed  to,  and  that  the 
weight  and  count  are  right,  the  policy  of  keeping  suffi- 
cient supplies  of  suitable  materials  on  hand  is  reduced 
to  a  routine — becomes  virtually  automatic. 

Handling  material  at  least  cost  and  most  expediently, 
minimizing  waste  and  spoliation,  and  getting  material 
to  the  workman  as  he  needs  it  instead  of  compelling  him 
to  hunt  it  up,  are  further  phases  of  the  application  of 
scientific  management  to  this  element  of  manufacturing, 
and  phases  wherein  the  elements,  machines,  methods  and 
men  play  a  conspicuous  part. 

HOW  to  arrange  and  handle  machines  to  get  most  out  of 
your  invested  capital — functions  of  the  production 
department  and  how  it  operates. 

Handling  of  machines  comes  next.  The  scientific  way 
does  not  consist  so  much  in  making  machines  perform 
operations  as  largely  as  practicable  (although  it  is  scien- 
tific to  do  nothing  by  hand  that  can  be  done  better,  more 
quickly  and  more  economically  by  machine),  as  it  does  in 
managing  machine  operations  so  as  to  get  the  most  out 
of  the  capital  thereby  represented. 

The  finest  automatic  machine  in  the  world  would  be 
worthless  without  proper  direction.  Nor  would  it  be 
worth  its  salt  if  not  kept  constantly  turning  out  work. 


APPLYING    NEW    IDEAS 13 

To  keep  it  regularly  busy  requires:  first,  a  proper 
volume  of  work;  second,  proper  handling  of  work  so  that 
it  flows  to  the  machine  as  fast  as  it  can  be  used,  but  no 
faster,  and  is  taken  away  as  promptly;  third,  proper 
maintenance  so  that  interruptions  do  not  occur  due  to 
breakdowns  or  neglect  to  oil;  fourth,  proper  handling 
devices  at  the  machines  so  that  the  work  may  be  handled 
in  and  out  of  the  machine  most  expediently;  fifth, 
proper  illumination,  so  that  the  operator  is  not  incon- 
venienced and  delayed  by  lack  of  sufficient  light  when 
and  where  needed ;  sixth,  that  the  cutting  tools  are  kept 
sharp,  by  some  other  than  the  operator;  seventh,  that 
only  work  is  given  a  machine  for  which  it  is  adapted  and 
that  it  is  worked  up  to  its  capacity  at  all  times ;  eighth, 
that  a  careful  record  is  kept  of  the  performance  of 
each  machine,  its  output,  consumption  of  power,  cost  for 
repairs,  and  so  on,  so  that  not  only  may  the  cost  of  the 
operation  be  definitely  known,  but  the  efficiency  of  each 
unit  as  a  dividend  producer. 

Much  good  at  this  point  can  come  from  records.  The 
production  manager  must  establish  records  of  machine 
performance  and  boil  them  down  for  the  quick  informa- 
tion of  the  busy  executive — information  that  he  and  his 
staff  need  to  enable  them  to  plan  ahead. 

Methods,  the  next  element  to  be  considered,  is  a 
broadly  inclusive  term,  which  in  its  broadest  sense  em- 
braces all  the  other  elements.  In  the  sense  used  here, 
however,  its  meaning  will  be  restricted  principally  to 
methods  of  production  and  costs. 

The  keystone  in  the  arch  of  manufacturing  methods  is 
the  planning  department,  sometimes  called  the  produc- 
tion department. 

In  a  small  factory  the  planning  department  will  be 
very  simple,  perhaps  comprising  only  one  man  who  acts 


14 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

as  an  assistant  to  the  manager,  relieving  him  of  all 
routine  work.  Proportionately  as  the  factory  increases 
in  size  and  scope  of  activity  must  the  planning  depart- 
.ment  be  larger,  dividing  up  the  routine  work  of  man- 
agement among  as  many  different  individuals  as  neces- 
sary, in  order  that  no  one  has  more  duties  to  attend  to 
than  he  can  handle  conveniently  and  effectively. 

This  department  handles  all  orders  as  received,  analyz- 
ing them,  getting  out  the  production  orders  necessary, 
referring  matters  requiring  new  designs  and  specifica- 
tions to  the  engineering  department,  which  in  this 
scheme  of  management  is  subsidiary  to  the  planning  de- 
partment; sees  to  it  that  the  supply  of  raw  materials, 
supplies,  tools,  and  so  on,  is  always  adequate  and  that  no 
order  is  sent  into  the  factory  until  the  materials  and 
tools  required  for  it  are  on  hand ;  that  work  is  assigned 
the  proper  machines  and  railroaded  through  on  schedule ; 
that  shipments  are  made  as  promised  and  followed 
through  to  safe  delivery;  that  every  machine  and  every 
operative  in  the  establishment  have  each  day  sufficient 
work  assigned  ahead  so  that  none  will  be  without  work 
any  appreciable  length  of  time,  nor  be  compelled  to 
hunt  up  new  work,  nor  yet  to  be  idle  because  of  delin- 
quent repairs;  and  so  on. 

This  in  brief  is  the  function  of  the  planning  depart- 
ment— its  work  is  literally  to  do  all  the  planning  of  a 
routine  nature  in  the  establishment,  leaving  the  ex- 
ecutives free  for  creative  planning  and  the  workers  to 
execute  solely. 

It  is  in  the  separation  of  the  planning  from  the  doing 
that  scientific  methods  make  their  biggest  saving  over 
the  old  regime,  wherein  much  of  the  planning  in  addi- 
tion to  the  execution  is  shouldered  on  the  workmen,  thus 
considerably  curtailing  their  efficiency  as  producers. 


APPLYING    NEW     IDEAS 15 

The  cost  system  in  the  scientifically  controlled  plant 
becomes  chiefly  an  instrument  of  control,  and  the  cost 
department  a  subsidiary  of  the  planning  department, 
furnishing  to  the  planners  the  records  and  statistics  by 
means  of  which  they  assign  work  and  control  the  cost 
thereof.  Its  importance  as  a  mere  cost-getter,  however, 
is  by  no  means  lessened;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  if  any- 
thing heightened.  For  in  order  to  plan  effectively  de- 
tailed knowledge  is  necessary  not  only  of  the  manufac- 
turing cost  of  each  article  of  product,  but  of  the  cost 
by  operations,  the  cost  with  different  machines  and  with 
different  men.  Only  in  this  way  can  the  efficiencies  of 
the  various  production  factors  be  established  on  a  firm 
foundation  and  efforts  to  improve  conditions,  increasing 
output  and  decreasing  costs,  reduced  to  a  program.  The 
cost  system  becomes,  thus,  the  mighty  instrumentality  of 
standardization — the  watch-word  of  industrial  efficiency. 

TIMING  operations   by  the   stop-watch   and  setting 
rates  according  to  the   "one  best"  way — how  func- 
tional bosses  replace  the  old  line  foreman. 

But  the  cost  system  is  not  relied  on  solely  to  help  for- 
ward the  work  of  standardization.  The  rate  setter,  an 
attache  of  the  planning  department,  plays  a  most  im- 
portant part.  His  it  is  to  establish  by  stop-watch  an- 
alysis the  best  ways  of  doing  operations  and  set  standard 
times,  upon  the  basis  of  which  men's  rates  of  pay  are 
fixed  and  by  means  of  which  the  planners  are  enabled 
effectively  to  plan  the  work  of  each  man  and  each  ma- 
chine in  the  factory. 

Under  less  advanced  managing  methods  all  knowledge 
as  to  times  required  to  do  different  pieces  of  work, 
what  this  man  and  that  machine  could  do,  and  so  on, 
resided  in  the  head  of  the  foreman,  and  depending  on 


16 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

that  worthy's  keenness  of  observation,  retentiveness  of 
memory  and  sense  of  values  was  worth  little  or  much, 
usually  little,  as  an  instrument  of  standardization  and 
cost  reduction.  And  under  the  old  system,  too,  the  fore- 
man set  the  rates,  upon  the  basis  of  his  own  experience 
and  personal  recollection,  by  watching  a  workman  for  an 
hour  or  two,  or  simply  by  the  use  of  that  magic  calcu- 
lating machine — "  judgment "— that  is,  by  guess.  ±  All 
this  is  changed  under  scientific  control. 

The  timing  of  operations  and  the  setting  of  rates  is 
taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  foremen  entirely  and  vested 
in  a  specialist  who  does  nothing  else  and  thus  becomes 
very  proficient.  The  rate  setter  makes  the  fullest  use 
of  the  cost  statistics  compiled  by  the  cost  department 
but  merely  as  a  guide  to  deeper  probing.  And  his  tim- 
ings, finally,  not  the  average»figures  of  the  cost  clerk, 
become  the  standard. 

There  are  other  duties  formerly  vested  in  the  fore- 
man, which,  under  the  Taylor  system,  are  taken  from  him 
and  vested  in  separate  functionaries.  Four  of  these  are 
attaches  of  the  planning  department:  the  order  of  work 
clerk,  who  instructs  both  foremen  and  men  as  to  what 
work  to  take  up  next  and  on  what  machines  to  do  it ;  the 
instruction  card  men,  who  are  responsible  for  all  the 
detailed  instructions  as  to  work,  the  rates  that  are  to  be 
paid,  and  so  on;  the  time  and  cost  clerk,  who  sends  to 
the  men  all  the  information  they  need,  via  their  work  or 
instruction  cards,  to  enable  them  properly  to  report, 
secures  from  them  the  proper  records,  and  refers  the  in- 
formation gathered  to  the  cost  and  time  entry  clerks; 
and  the  disciplinarian,  or  peacemaker,  who  acts  for  the 
whole  factory,  to  settle  disputes  between  different  fore- 
men and  different  men,  and  who,  very  largely,  handles 
wage  adjustments. 


APPLYING    NEW    IDEAS 17 

The  four  functional  foremen  in  the  factory  proper 
are:  the  speed  boss,  to  whom  the  workmen  look  for  in- 
structions as  to  the  tools  and  the  proper  speeds  and  feeds 
to  use;  the  repair  boss,  who  is  responsible  for  the  con- 
dition of  all  machines  and  work  places,  the  proper  piling 
of  work,  and  so  on ;  the  inspector,  who  is  responsible  for 
the  quality  of  all  work,  and  to  him  both  the  men  and 
the  speed  boss  must  look  in  this  respect;  and,  finally, 
the  gang  boss,  or  foreman  proper,  who  is  responsible  for 
all  work  up  to  the  time  it  is  put  in  the  machines,  must 
see  that  there  is  at  all  times  sufficient  work  ahead,  and 
that  the  men  are  properly  instructed  how  to  do  their 
.work.  He  is  the  pacemaker,  the  instructor,  and  friend 
of  the  workmen,  whose  duty  is  to  help  them  in  every 
way  he  can,  not  only  to  do  good  work,  but  the  largest 
quantity  possible. 

By  this  arrangement  the  position  of  foreman  is  not 
lowered  in  dignity — it  is  if  anything  enhanced.  It  is 
simply  a  case  of  greater  specialization  of  duties,  and  in 
this  instance,  as  in  general  specialization,  does  not  de- 
grade but  elevate.  It  is  of  course  hard  to  make  men  in- 
ured in  the  old  system  believe  this  fact — they  feel 
humiliated  at  first  and  oppose  the  change  bitterly;  but 
when  finally  won  over  to  the  new  plan,  they  become  en- 
thusiastic about  it  and  would  not  go  back  to  the  old  con- 
dition for  love  or  money. 

Nor  does  this  multiplication  of  "bosses"  complicate 
the  work  of  supervision,  as  might  be  offhand,  and  is  so 
very  generally,  supposed.  "Too  many  bosses"  is  in- 
deed a  great  evil,  but  it  is  one  far  more  prevalent  under 
the  old  style  of  management,  where  there  is  seldom  a 
clean-cut  division  of  duties  and  a  logical  arrangement 
of  lines  of  authority,  than  under  the  new  plaa,  in  which 
clean-cut  division  of  duties  and  responsibilities  is  a 


18 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

fundamental  principle.  When  men  know  exactly  to  whom 
to  look  for  different  classes  of  instruction,  and  the  men 
who  are  looked  to  know  exactly  the  compass  of  their 
authority,  there  is  no  chance  either  for  overlapping 
authorities  or  errors  of  omission  in  giving  instructions. 
Of  course,  in  a  small  establishment,  with  few  depart- 
ments, it  would  not  be  practical  or  necessary  to  f  unction- 
alize  the  supervision  to  the  extent  outlined,  and  several 
of  the  functions  would  be  combined  in  one  individual. 
And  in  any  establishment,  the  complete  individualization 
of  these  functions  need  be  carried  out  to  no  greater  ex^ 
tent  than  the  size  and  conditions  justify. 

i/  T  T  NIFORMITY  of  methods  and  the  issuance  of  stand- 
*-J  ard  written  instructions  are  plans  adopted  by  scien- 
tific managers  to  avoid  the  confusion  of  verbal  orders. 

But  no  matter  how  little  or  how  much  the  work  of  su- 
pervision is  specialized,  whether  divided  up  among  eight 
men  or  combined  in  one,  the  method  of  supervision 
Tinder  the  new  regime  is  radically  different.  Under  the 
old  scheme,  there  is  almost  an  entire  dependence  on 
word  of  mouth :  bosses  issue  their  instructions  verbally ; 
men  learn  the  standard  practices  of  the  factory  from 
the  lips  of  or  by  watching  fellow  workmen  who  have 
been  there  longer. 

In  consequence  there  is  almost  an  entire  lack  of  uni- 
formity of  methods ;  no  two  men  do  the  same  thing  in 
the  same  way — the  one  best  way ;  there  is  almost  infinite 
variability  in  operations;  on  account  of  so  much  de- 
pendence on  the  fallible  memories  and  perceptions  of 
men,  much  repetition  of  the  same  instructions  over  and 
over  again,  many  mistakes  due  to  lack  of  clear  instruc- 
tions or  clear  perceptions. 

Not  so,  in  the  thoroughly  systematized  plant.    Instead, 


APPLYING    NEW    IDEAS 19 

there  is  a  zealous  and  unremitting  effort  made  to  learn 
the  best  ways  of  doing  everything,  in  which  the  rate 
setter  plays  a  leading  part,  and  when  once  the  best  way 
of  doing  a  particular  piece  of  work — it  may  be  a  machine 
operation,  or  a  hand  operation,  or  setting  up  a  machine, 
or  piling  work,  or  inspecting  product,  or  what  not — when 
once  the  best  way  has  been  found,  it  is  embodied  in  a 
written  standard  practice  instruction,  which  thereafter 
becomes  the  law  of  the  factory,  until  supplanted  by  a 
still  better  way. 

The  men  receive  their  standard  practice  instructions 
on  their  work  cards,  which  are  made  out  in  the  planning 
department.  The  various  functional  bosses  and  heads  of 
departments,  in  the  office  as  well  as  in  the  shop,  receive 
written  instructions  covering  their  duties,  defining  the 
policies  of  the  management,  explaining  such  other  mat- 
ters as  they  are  vitally  interested  in,  usually  on  regular 
letter  size,  typewritten  sheets,  which  they  keep  in  binders 
in  a  locked  drawer  in  their  desks. 

As  fresh  issues  arise  concerning  which  no  instructions 
— or  incomplete  instructions  have  been  issued,  a  bulletin 
or  special  standard  practice  instruction  is  issued.  When 
a  certain  number  of  bulletins  have  collected  on  any  one 
subject,  all  the  instructions  both  regular  and  special  are 
recalled  and  revised  standards  prepared  incorporating 
both.  In  this  way,  the  instructions  are  kept  up  to  date ; 
each  inch  gained  is  held;  confusion  due  to  loose,  verbal 
instructions  avoided;  with  resultant  great  gain  in  effi- 
ciency all  around. 

Instructions  of  a  general  nature,  in  which  the  men 
are  interested  regardless  of  position,  such  as  shop  rides, 
instructions  regarding  fire  and  accident  prevention,  in- 
dustrial insurance,  description  of  company's  product, 
its  policy,  aims,  and  goals,  and  so  on,  are  usually  incor- 


20 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

porated  in  a  little  booklet,  which  the  men  receive  when 
they  enter  the  employ  of  the  company  and  surrender 
when  they  leave. 

The  gain  due  to  instituting  written  standard  practice 
instructions  in  any  factory  is  incalculable,  and  the 
larger  the  factory  the  greater  is  the  gain — in  fact,  the 
efficient  operation  of  large  factories  would  be  out  of  the 
question  otherwise,  and  no  factory  is  too  small  not  to 
profit  thereby.  The  function  they  really  perform  is  that 
of  standardization  of  supervision — they  are  the  means 
of  bringing  about  "one  mind"  throughout  an  establish- 
ment. To  a  certain  extent  they  reduce  the  amount  of 
supervision,  in  the  sense  of  the  term  ordinarily  under- 
stood, necessary.  This  is  instanced  by  one  company 
operating  a  chain  of  factories  which  has  supplanted  its 
factory  managers  at  the  several  plants  with  a  book  of 
standard  practice  instructions. 

MEN  are  not  like  machines — they  must  be  led,  not 
driven.     How  the  modern  manager  trains  his  em- 
ployees, and  induces  them  to  work  at  top  efficiency. 

Last,  but  not  least,  comes  the  handling  of  men.  How 
is  the  efficiency  of  the  workers  to  be  built  up  and  con- 
served? How  are  we  to  get,  not  the  most,  but  the  best 
out  of  them?  Scientific  management  answers,  by  care- 
fully fitting  the  man  to  the  job  and  the  job  to  the  man, 
and  once  the  man  and  the  job  have  been  mated  by  sys- 
tematically training  the  man  until  his  skill  is  perfected, 
and  then  by  paying  him,  not  as  little  as  he  will  work  for, 
but  as  much  as  you  can  afford. 

Labor  is  the  one  responsive  element  in  manufacturing, 
and  in  the  last  analysis  efficiency  and  success  depend 
very  largely  on  how  hearty  a  response  it  makes.  As 
William  C.  Redfield  says,  "It  is  the  greatest  force  in 


APPLYING    NEW    IDEAS 


industry  ;  the  only  living  force,  too  often  a  wasted  force, 
too  rarely  a  force  used  as  we  use  an  engine  —  recipro- 
cally. " 

The  proper  viewpoint  and  the  scientific  viewpoint  to- 
wards labor  is  to  regard  it  not  as  an  expense,  to  be  cut 
down  incessantly  as  any  other  expense,  but  as  an  in- 
vestment, to  be  handled  as  carefully  and  treated  as  ju- 
diciously as  any  other  investment. 

It  is  scientific,  hence,  first  of  all  to  endeavor  to  improve 
working  conditions  to  the  utmost,  not  because  it  is  hu- 
manitarian, but  because  experience  has  proven  that  it 
pays.  The  more  comfortable  and  healthful  the  factory 
environment,  the  more  contented  the  workmen,  the  less 
absence  on  account  of  ills  directly  traceable  to  bad  work- 
ing conditions,  the  more  responsive,  the  easier  to  man- 
age, the  more  efficient  as  producers. 

It  is  also  scientific  to  bend  any  effort  to  place  men  in 
their  right  positions,  so  that  they  will  have  the  work  for 
which  they  are  best  fitted  naturally;  then  train  them 
until  they  are  familiar  with  the  niceties  of  their  work 
and  fixed  in  the  habit  of  doing  it  the  right  way.  Only 
when  men  have  been  fitted  to  their  jobs  and  trained  to 
do  them  properly  may  definite  quotas  of  work  be  regu- 
larly put  up  to  them  and  their  rate  of  pay  based  di- 
rectly on  their  output. 


HPHE  great  problem  which  now  confronts  men  in  industry 
•*•    and  commerce,  and  also  in  educational,   religious  and 
philanthropic  work,  is  one  of  management  and  administra- 
tion. 

— James    Logan 

Chairman  Executive  Board,  United  States  Envelope  Company 


II 


CHARTING  AUTHORITIES  IN 
THE  INDUSTRIAL  BODY 

By  Clinton  E.  Woods 
Electrical  and  Mechanical  Engineer  and  Consulting  Expert 

MANUFACTURE  of  material  into  a  specific  product 
is  a  digestive  process.  A  functioning  organism 
must  be  provided  to  keep  the  factory  alive  for  the  same 
reason  as  in  the  human  body.  It  must  be  directed  by  a 
specific  intelligence,  and  have  internal  and  external 
avenues  of  correspondence  to  keep  it  alive ;  and,  like  the 
living  organism,  it  must  be  self-supporting  and  more, 
show  a  reasonable  profit,  or  it  can  not  progress. 

Organization  aims  to  unite  individuals  into  a  body 
which  shall  work  together  for  a  common  end.  Spe- 
cifically, organization  prepares  for  the  transaction  of 
business  by  electing  and  appointing  officers  and  com- 
mittees, delegating  authorities  and  bringing  into  sys- 
tematic connection  and  cooperation,  each  and  every  part 
of  the  industrial  body.  Right  organization,  in  short, 
puts  vitality  into  the  entire  factory,  secures  the  efficient 
working-together  of  all  employees,  from  the  manager's 
office  to  the  mechanic's  bench,  routes  materials,  sub- 
divides work,  inspects  output  and  delivers  the  right 
goods,  fully  processed,  at  the  shipping  room  door  on  the 
correct  delivery  date. 

In  analyzing  organization  work,  a  single  chart  can 
frequently  express  more  than  any  amount  of  detailed 
written  explanation.  First  of  all,  clearly  define  author- 


ORGANIZATION    ELEMENTS 23 

ities  within  your  establishment ;  then  chart  those  authori- 
ties simply  and  graphically,  so  that  every  workman 
knows  to  whom  he  is  responsible,  and  every  executive 
knows  who  is  responsible  to  him.  Place  this  chart  con- 
spicuously in  every  department  where  each  employee 
can  see  it.  In  case  of  disputed  authority,  final  proof  is 
immediately  at  hand.  There  is  then  no  loop-hole 
through  which  a  neglectful  workman,  foreman  or  ex- 
ecutive can  crawl — no  longer  does  he  have  the  excuse 
that  he  ' '  thought  somebody  else  was  going  to  do  it. ' '  In 
clean-cut  form,  his  duties  and  relations  to  other  men 
of  the  organization  are  laid  down  once  and  for  all,  and 
responsibility  rests  on  the  right  man.  Failure  so  to  spe- 
cify responsibilities  inevitably  means  confusion  all  down 
the  line. 


I 


'NCREASING  specialization  in  factory  work  has  re- 
sulted in  the  growth  of  functional  or  staff  controlt  which 
supplements  military  or  line  organization. 

There  are  two  big  principles  in  organization:  "mili- 
tary" and  "functional";  or,  as  they  are  more  com- 
monly and  better  called,  "line"  and  "staff."  These 
principles  are  not  antagonistic.  On  the  contrary  the 
best  possible  results  are  often  secured  only  when  the 
two  forms  of  organization  exist  side  by  side. 

Line  organization  is  the  old  form,  in  which  authority 
proceeds  in  a  straight  line  from  the  highest  to  the  low- 
est. The  workman  has  the  foreman  above  him,  from 
whom  he  receives  all  orders.  The  superintendent  is 
above  the  foreman,  and  the  president  or  general  man- 
ager ranks  above  the  superintendent.  Authority  pro- 
ceeds down  this  single  current  in  the  shape  of  specific  or- 
ders until  it  reaches  the  actual  workman.  Simplest  and 
most  natural,  this  form  of  organization  alone,  especially 


24 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

in  complex  businesses,  is  not  always  the  most  effective. 

Scientific  management  has  very  largely  emphasized 
functional  and  staff  organization — a  form  which  is  na- 
tural in  an  age  of  constantly  increasing  specialization. 
Staff  organization  delegates  certain  functions  to  one  man 
in  authority,  who  is  a  specialist  in  his  line.  In  the  army, 
for  example,  a  captain  in  the  medical  corps  does  not 
attempt  to  build  bridges.  That  is  the  duty  of  an  en- 
gineer, who  is,  thus  far,  a  functional  executive  in  a  staff 
organization. 

The  captain  in  the  engineering  corps  does  not  outrank 
the  captain  in  the  medical  corps,  or  vice  versa.  Each 
is  responsible  in  his  own  field  and  has  full  authority. 

Such  a  division  of  functions  is  made  simply  because  a 
man  who  specializes  on  one  kind  of  work  can  do  that 
work  much  better  than  a  man  who  is  now  commanding  a 
battalion,  but  is  presently  called  away  from  his  ordinary 
functions  to  build  bridges.  A  man  may  be  a  very  good 
civil  engineer,  without  having  the  ability  to  lead  others 
in  a  military  attack. 

This  does  not  do  away  altogether  with  line  organiza- 
tion. Within  his  department  and  the  scope  of  his  own 
work,  the  staff  executive  exerts  his  authority  directly, 
on  the  old  line  plan.  In  other  words,  line  and  staff 
exist  side  by  side,  and  it  is  only  thus  that  the  best  re- 
sults are  attained. 

Applied  to  industrial  bodies  the  principle  of  line  and 
staff  brings  far  better  results  than  the  line  principle 
alone.  The  old  foreman,  in  most  up-to-date  factories,  is 
done  away  with  and  in  his  place  there  may  be  four  func- 
tional foremen:  the  speed  boss,  the  repair  boss,  the  in- 
spector and  a  gang  boss.  This  would  seem  to  make  an 
undesirable  addition  to  the  number  of  bosses  for  each 
man.  In  practice,  however,  it  is  found  to  work  out  well, 


ORGANIZATION    ELEMENTS 


r     / 
4 

1 

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1 

1 

3 

< 

i 

o 

z 

M 

K 

e 

u 

> 

o 

a 

z 

z         , 

0      / 

I/ 

rf   » 

/             y 

4  y^ 

'X 

1 

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i 
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< 
; 

9 
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Ni 

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,% 

26 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

because  each  of  the  bosses  exerts  his  authority  in  only 
the  particular  province  assigned  to  him. 

Prime  elements  of  the  industrial  body  are  shown  in 
Figure  I.  The  resemblance  to  the  human  body  is 
graphically  portrayed.  This  industrial  body  has  its 
own  mind,  will  power  and  directing  brain  in  the  stock- 
holders, directors  and  executive  officers;  it  has  also  ave- 
nues of  correspondence  with  the  outside  world  which 
furnish  it  with  the  very  elements  of  its  existence. 

WHAT  the  prime  elements  of  the  industrial  body 
are  and  how  they  are  related  to  one  another  and 
to  other  bodies  in  the  commercial  world. 

Stockholders,  as  the  chart  shows,  are  the  first  con- 
necting link  between  the  factory  and  the  general  public. 
They  have  simply  made  an  investment  for  a  specific 
purpose,  but  are  too  unwieldy  in  themselves  to  control 
directly  the  work  of  organization  and  manufacture. 
They  therefore  at  once  elect  directors,  and  the  latter  se- 
lect executive  officers  who  assume  direct  control  of  the 
functioning  powers. 

Final  circulation  of  the  business  is  kept  active  by 
the  auditor  or  comptroller  and  is  divided  into  the  four 
factors:  administration,  labor,  overhead  and  material 
expense.  The  dotted  lines  within  the  oval  indicate  to 
what  extent  this  circulation  enters  into  the  organiza- 
tion as  a  whole.  Labor  permeates  through  all  depart- 
ments, material  extending  only  to  the  purchase  and  ac- 
counting departments;  while  general  expense  permeates 
through  all  departments  and  is  composed — as  indicated 
by  the  second  dotted  line  within  the  oval — of  both  labor 
and  material.  As  administrative  expense  is  only  a  local 
circulation  and  its  expense  comes  within  the  administra- 
tive section,  it  is  indicated  by  the  lines  so  dotted. 


ORGANIZATION    ELEMENTS 


ir 


28 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

This  chart  also  indicates  what  are  the  avenues  of 
correspondence  with  the  outside  world.  Incoming  cor- 
respondence consists  of,  first,  the  stockholders  who  make 
an  investment ;  second,  material  receipts ;  and  finally,  the 
commercial  receipts.  The  outgoing  correspondence  is 
commercial  disbursements  in  payment  for  material  re- 
ceived and  manufactured  output  which  comes  back  in 
the  form  of  commercial  receipts. 

The  least  number  of  prime  elements  to  which  a  manu- 
facturing business  can  be  reduced  and  yet  retain  a 
proper  functioning  power  is  also  indicated.  In  the 
manufacturing  section,  these  prime  elements  are  pur- 
chasing, sales  and  manufacture.  In  the  commercial 
section  come  accounting,  advertising  and  sales,  with  a 
general  manager  at  the  head  of  both  and  connecting 
them.  No  matter  how  small  a  business  may  be,  it  must 
have  this  much  of  a  structure.  No  matter  how  large  it 
may  grow,  on  the  other  hand,  it  will  ultimately  resolve 
itself  into  simply  the  subdivision  of  these  prime  elements 
along  the  line  of  extended  functioning  powers. 

Although  here  reduced  to  the  simplest  possible  terms, 
Figure  II  at  the  same  time  contains  all  of  the  elements 
which  govern  the  laying  out  of  an  organization  of  any 
magnitude.  This  is  the  chart  of  prime  and  working  au- 
thorities, showing  exactly  where  each  authority  is  re- 
lated to  the  others  and  how  far  each  authority  may  ex- 
tend in  the  business. 

DEPARTMENTS  into  which  the  prime  elements  of 
the  industrial  body  are  subdivided — how  to  chart 
authorities  and  definitely  place  responsibilities. 

The  administrative,  commercial  and  manufacturing 
sections  are  retained  in  the  same  position  as  in  Figure 
I  and  these  different  sections  are  subdivided  into  the 


ORGANIZATION    ELEMENTS 


specific  departmental  divisions  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing how  the  authorities  controlling  different  depart- 
ments are  related  to  the  industrial  body  as  a  whole. 

Departmental  division  is  a  necessity  which  is  many 
times  insufficiently  understood.  It  means  much  more 
than  a  mere  division  of  authority.  It  is  necessary  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  different  methods  of  procedure 
in  the  making  and  marketing  of  goods  require  widely 
varying  experiences  with  the  authorities  that  govern 
them.  The  division  of  a  business  into  departments  is 
controlled  by  two  elements,  the  character  of  the  labor 
that  it  is  necessary  to  employ,  and  the  character  of  the 
material  processed.  Therefore,  in  order  to  know  the 
proper  divisions  of  the  manufacturing  business  into 
departments,  it  is  necessary,  first,  to  trace  the  essential 
processing  of  material  from  the  raw  state  to  the  fin- 
ished product  by  progressive  steps,  and  then  lay  off  the 
departments  along  this  line  of  travel  in  accordance 
with  its  differences  in  the  elements  above  designated. 

In  Figure  II  note  in  the  administrative  section  the 
fact  that  stockholders  control  the  directors  and  that 
their  paths  of  authority  do  not  extend  beyond  this. 
The  directors  control  the  executive  officers  and  form 
themselves,  or  a  few  of  them,  into  the  executive  com- 
mittee. The  paths  of  authority  for  both  the  directors 
and  executive  committee,  as  indicated  in  the  chart,  are 
identical,  but  these  authorities  do  not  extend  beyond 
the  line  which  separates  them  from  the  space  occu- 
pied by  the  general  manager.  This  general  manager 
is  accessible  to  all  of  the  executive  officers.  The  audi- 
tor or  comptroller  of  the  company  is  closely  identified 
with  the  board  of  directors,  all  the  executive  officers 
and  the  general  manager  ;  but  his  office  does  not  extend 
beyond  that.  Charted  out,  his  duty  shows  as  an  isolated 


30 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

dotted  circle,  which  indicates  the  necessary  independence 
of  this  office  from  the  interference  of  other  executive 
officers. 

Coming  now  to  the  general  manager's  path  of  author- 
ity, note  that  it  extends  entirely  around  both  the  manu- 
facturing and  commercial  sections  and  that  all  depart- 
ments coming  up  to  the  dotted  line  are  directly  answer- 
able to  the  general  manager  for  the  conduct  of  their 
duties. 

In  department  No.  1  the  purchasing  agent  is  the  first 
sub-authority.  The  chief  stores  clerk,  department  No.  2, 
is  under  the  purchasing  agent  and  communicates  with 
the  general  manager  only  through  him.  Department 
No.  3,  which  is  the  office  of  the  superintendent,  has  a 
path  of  authority  extending  under  the  general  manager 
as  far  as  the  manufacturing  section  goes.  Sub-authori- 
ties under  him  are  the  chief  engineer,  assistant  super- 
intendent and  chief  shipping  clerk;  under  whom  an- 
other division  into  sub-authorities  is  indicated  by  de- 
partments Nos.  5  to  15  inclusive. 

This  method  of  procedure  in  charting  organization 
is  very  effective  since  it  sets  definitely  and  exactly  the 
lines  of  authority,  and  allows  the  number  of  subdivi- 
sions of  authority  that  any  business  may  require. 

The  prime  distribution  of  expense  is  another  inter- 
esting group.  This  shows,  first,  the  confines  of  the  ad- 
ministrative expense;  second,  the  manufacturing  non- 
productive expense;  third,  the  manufacturing  pro- 
ductive expense;  fourth,  the  commercial  or  selling  ex- 
pense. This  method  of  procedure  is  so  flexible  in  the 
chart  that  it  can  be  divided  up  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  any  business. 

One  point  to  note  in  connection  with  this  chart  is  the 
fact  that  while  the  shipping  departments  and  ware- 


ORGANIZATION    ELEMENTS 31 

house  are  under  the  authority  of  the  superintendent, 
their  expense  is  a  commercial  or  selling  expense. 

The  laying  out  of  such  a  chart  as  this  is  the  founda- 
tion for  the  proper  distribution  of  all  administrative 
duties,  and  when  carefully  laid  out  specifically  to  meet 
the  needs  of  your  business,  clears  up  more  questionable 
points  and  avoids  more  disputes  regarding  authorities 
and  duties  than  any  other  method. 

Once  laid  out,  a  copy  of  the  chart  should  be  placed 
in  the  hands  of  every  individual  having  authority.  In 
actual  organization  charts  for  your  own  business,  fill 
in  each  department  space  the  names  of  the  heads  of  the 
department,  and  also  the  names  of  all  sub-authorities, 
so  that  your  chart  shows  not  only  what  is  here  exhibited 
as  fundamental,  but  also  gives  the  entire  personnel  of 
the  organization  down  even  to  the  ordinary  day  laborer. 

Application  of  new  ideas  has  generally  to  be  made 
to  plants  already  in  existence.  In  analyzing  your  plant 
for  the  purpose  of  determining  how  to  produce  most 
economically  always  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  the 
first  thing  to  be  desired  is  the  direct  movement  of  your 
product  along  the  lines  that  lead  from  raw  material  to 
finished  product,  irrespective  of  any  geographical  de- 
partmental condition  or  location  already  established,  as 
it  is  only  by  this  means  that  possible  re-arrangements 
are  attained. 

With  such  a  chart  as  Figure  II  arranged  on  this  basis, 
with  departments  put  in  sequence  throughout  the  manu- 
facturing section  in  accordance  with  the  different  move- 
ments required  in  the  processing  of  material,  it  then 
becomes  easy  to  take  geographical  conditions  into  con- 
sideration and  to  arrange  them  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  the  movement  of  the  product  which  is  being  manu- 
factured continuous  in  one  direction. 


82 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

This  kind  of  chart  with  its  subdivision  of  authorities 
clears  up  many  causes  for  dispute,  and  every  man  knows 
exactly  what  is  expected  of  him.  Since  this  is  true, 
since  every  man  knows  what  he  is  responsible  for,  and 
to  whom  he  is  responsible,  it  is  possible  to  place  ac- 
curately the  blame  for  mistakes  and  neglected  duties. 
Much  of  this  neglect,  therefore,  and  many  of  the  mis- 
takes which  ordinarily  occur  are  then  automatically 
done  away  with. 


13  ESPONSIBLE  heads  are  demanded  in  every  modern 
•*•**  manufacturing  establishment.  At  the  desk  of  the  chief 
executive,  be  he  called  variously  the  factory  manager,  shop 
superintendent  or  production  manager r  there  must  be  focused 
in  compact  form  the  substance  of  all  the  factors  entering  pro- 
duction. By  this  means  alone  can  the  factory  output  be  regu- 
lated and  the  most  efficient  use  made  of  men,  materials  and 
machinery. 

—Edward  T.  Runge 

Factory  Organizer  and  Cost  Accountant 


Ill 

CENTRALIZING  FACTORY 
CONTROL 

By  Edward  M.  Stradley 
Factory  Organizer  and  Accountant 

WITHOUT  the  groundwork  upon  which  to  erect  an 
efficient  productive  unit,  executive  control  of  fac- 
tory detail  is  impossible.  The  old-time  policy  of  gov- 
erning a  plant  by  inspiring  the  efforts  of  department 
heads  through  a  tacit  understanding  of  their  relative 
positions,  is  fast  giving  way  to  the  belief  that  a  well 
organized  factory  exists  only  when  a  fixed  and  definite 
statement  of  the  responsibility  is  outlined. 

Old  factories  and  new  are  susceptible  to  this  organiza- 
tion of  the  working  force,  but  in  building  new  plants 
the  arrangement  of  the  buildings  also  counts  for  much 
in  organization.  These  two  factors,  a  well-planned  ar- 
rangement of  buildings  and  a  thoroughly  defined  re- 
sponsibility, make  up  the  basis  of  the  most  economical 
manufacturing  plants. 

Suitable  building  arrangement  augments  the  efficiency 
of  a  well  planned  organization.  In  one  concern,  the 
arrangement  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  closely  connected 
single-story  structures  for  the  manufacture  of  rubber 
hose. 

One  gate  only  gives  access  to  the  factory  enclosure. 
It  is  built  roomily  to  accommodate  a  two-horse  wagon 
and  the  area  within  is  large  enough  to  turn  the  wagon 
around  in.  No  space  is  wasted.  Directly  at  the  rear  of 


34 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

the  gate  the  platform  of  the  receiving  department  opens 
into  a  spacious  raw  material  stock  room,  itself  so  placed 
in  the  center  of  the  processing  departments  that  the  raw 
material  for  each  can  be  transferred  directly  with  the 
least  handling.  The  entire  factory  is  so  planned  that 
work  moves  through  the  buildings  in  straight  lines. 

This  organization  of  processes  is  not  generally  pos- 
sible in  old  factories  in  which  growth  has  been  hap- 
hazard and  in  which  building  arrangement  has  not  been 
considered  for  so  long  a  time  that  it  is  a  pretty  problem 
to  rearrange  completely  the  lines  of  production.  The 
straight  line  is,  however,  the  ideal  in  old  as  well  as 
new  factories.  Starting  with  open  fields,  the  production 
engineer  for  the  new  factory  has  none  of  the  difficulties 
brought  about  by  existing  conditions  and  can,  therefore, 
build  his  plant  very  closely  to  attain  the  ideal. 

IMPORTANT  in  every  factory  is  thorough  organiza- 
1.  tion  in  the  working  force,  so  that  each  man  knows  his 
duties  and  the  persons  to  whom  he  is  responsible. 

While  such  organization  of  buildings  is  highly  de- 
sirable, and  while  the  ways  of  production  are  smoothed 
wonderfully  by  a  well-arranged  plant,  a  thorough  or- 
ganization of  the  working  force  is  possible  in  all  fac- 
tories. 

Men  can  be  more  easily  arranged  than  buildings. 
Thorough  organization  of  a  plant  is  essential  and  a 
smooth  running  department  organization  will  overcome 
a  great  many  defects  in  building  arrangement. 

To  bring  out  clearly  the  duties  and  relative  impor- 
tance of  the  various  departments  making  up  a  factory, 
a  typical  organization  diagram  for  a  rubber  mill  is 
shown  (Figure  III).  Naturally  machine  shop  organiza- 
tion would  differ  in  detail  from  this,  but  the  general 


FIXING    FACTORY    DUTIES 


35 


•S 


1 


•8 


36 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

principles  and  requirements  of  factory  conduct  hold 
good  for  any  plant. 

Our  attention  is  held  only  to  those  departments  of 
the  factory  having  strictly  to  do  with  production.  At 
the  head  of  production  comes  an  official  variously  en- 
titled, according  to  the  size  of  the  plant,  factory  man- 
ager, general  manager,  superintendent  of  production, 
superintendent  of  the  factory. 

Varied  though  his  title,  this  executive's  duties  are 
clear.  He  is  responsible  for  the  making  of  the  goods. 
In  him  must  be  combined  ability  to  handle  men,  a  keen 
knowledge  of  the  manufacturing  end  of  the  business 
and  executive  qualities  of  high  order.  The  supervisor 
of  the  rubber  mill  under  consideration  has  the  titles  of 
general  manager  and  treasurer.  His  position  in  the 
plant  is  somewhat  unusual,  since  he  not  only  is  in 
close  touch  with  the  manufacturing,  but  also  with  the 
financial  end  of  the  business.  Costs,  credits,  collections, 
purchases  and  manufacturing  all  come  under  his  juris- 
diction. 

Under  the  manufacturing  executive  properly  belong 
all  the  departments  dealing  with  manufacturing,  in- 
cluding purchasing,  stock  keeping,  processing,  factory 
accounting  and  costs  and  shipping.  The  relation  of 
these  various  departments  to  each  other  and  to  the  gen- 
eral manager  is  indicated  in  Figure  III.  Whatever  the 
nature  of  your  plant,  you  should  have  a  chart  of  this 
sort.  Posted  in  every  department  office,  it  fixes  responsi- 
bility and  shows  the  workman  each  executive  to  whom 
he  must  report. 

When  the  factory  responsibility  has  been  fixed  in  the 
manner  outlined  the  duties  of  each  department  head 
must  be  specified.  A  man  should  not  be  hampered  in 
his  work  by  restrictive  measures  curtailing  his  authority 


FIXING    FACTORY    DUTIES 37 

within  his  own  sphere,  but  his  field  of  operations  should 
be  definitely  circumscribed.  The  purchasing  agent,  for 
example,  should  not  be  hampered  with  an  enormous 
amount  of  detail.  On  the  other  hand,  he  should  not  be 
a  clerk  but  a  man  of  some  capacity  who  understands 
the  requirements  of  the  mill  and  combines  with  technical 
knowledge  the  shrewd  judgment  of  a  buyer.  Railroad 
rates  and  terms  must  be  included  within  his  knowledge 
as  well  as  a  comprehensive  understanding  of  the  busi- 
ness. 

DUTIES  of  executives  throughout  the  factory  in  the 
purchasing,  stores,  processing  and  power  depart- 
ment, and  limits  of  control  for  each  department. 

As  to  detail  work  in  the  purchasing  department,  the 
practice  varies,  of  course,  with  the  work  of  the  factory. 
In  large  plants  the  subdivision  of  the  work  must  be  car- 
ried further,  but  the  general  work  of  the  department 
can  be  grouped  under  various  heads. 

Working  data  concerning  quotations,  prices  and  past 
purchases  form  a  groundwork  for  buying.  This  material 
can  often  be  summarized  in  graphical  form.  By  such 
a  method  past  practices  can  be  very  easily  compared 
and  analyzed. 

Upon  data  so  collected,  purchase  contracts  can  be 
made,  this  duty  in  some  instances  being  only  one  actu- 
ally performed  by  the  purchasing  department.  Gen- 
erally, however,  after  the  orders  have  been  made  out,  the 
duty  of  following  them  up  devolves  upon  the  purchas- 
ing department  as  well  as  approval  of  all  invoices  for 
materials  and  supplies.  Quality  and  price  have  all  to 
be  considered  in  approving  the  orders. 

To  a  simple  clerical  system  in  the  organization  of  the 
stock  department  must  be  added  mechanical  aids  to 


AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 


orderliness.  The  duties  of  the  stock  clerk  consist  in 
keeping  stock  of  raw  material,  supplies  and  finished 
product  so  distributed  in  bins  as  to  be  quickly  reached 
and  disbursed  to  the  different  departments  upon  requisi- 
tion. 

The  organization  of  the  rubber  mill  under  considera- 
tion makes  a  point  of  having  the  stock  rooms  for  raw 
material  supplies  and  finished  product  in  charge  of  a 
single  stockkeeper.  This  places  responsibility  for  both 
receiving  and  disbursing  on  one  set  of  records  and  sim- 
plifies the  general  organization. 

The  stockkeeper  in  a  mill  must  be  thoroughly  con- 
versant with  the  factory  requirements  and  should  know 
what  each  department  needs  to  carry  on  its  work  with- 
out delaying  progress.  If  there  is  not  stock  on  hand  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  a  certain  order  (copy  of  which 
he  has  received  from  the  cost  department)  he  makes  a 
purchase  requisition  on  the  superintendent  and  the 
superintendent,  giving  his  0.  K.  if  he  approves,  sends 
the  order  to  the  purchasing  agent. 

Next  in  logical  carrying  on  of  a  factory  comes  the 
organization  of  the  processing  departments.  At  the 
head  of  these  departments,  comes  an  executive  called 
variously  the  superintendent,  factory  manager  or  pro- 
duction manager. 

In  the  model  plant,  the  sole  duty  of  this  executive 
should  be  to  produce  goods  at  nominal  cost.  A  good 
many  concerns  are  operated  on  the  idea  that  the  super- 
intendent should  be  responsible  for  selling  and  admin- 
istrative expense.  This  is  not  only  illogical  but  leads  to 
friction  between  departments. 

And  to  secure  the  best  results  under  ordinary  con- 
ditions the  purchasing  agent  should  be  responsible  not 
to  the  superintendent  but  to  the  general  manager.  This 


FIXING    FACTORY    DUTIES 89 

separates  costs  of  raw  material  from  costs  of  manu- 
facture in  the  organization  and  does  not  engender  ill 
feeling  between  the  purchasing  agent  and  the  factory 
manager. 

In  the  rubber  mill  organization,  the  work  of  the  su- 
perintendent is  subdivided  into  departments  over  each 
of  which  a  foreman  presides.  The  power  equipment  is 
looked  after  by  the  assistant  superintendent.  He,  like 
the  superintendent,  is  a  practical  rubber  manufacturer, 
and  in  addition  to  his  duties  as  supervisor  of  power,  he 
transmits  the  superintendent's  orders  to  the  foreman. 

The  assistant  superintendent  must  be  something  of  a 
diplomat.  As  one  foreman  remarked,  if  the  head  of  the 
manufacturing  establishment  studied  his  men  as  thor- 
oughly as  his  costs  and  systems  of  doing  work,  he  would 
get  results  far  out  of  proportion  to  his  efforts.  In  the 
small  factory  this  personal  element  can  be  infused  into 
the  organization  by  the  superintendent  himself,  but  in 
the  larger  organization,  the  assistant  superintendents 
and  foremen  can  do  much  to  facilitate  the  smooth  run- 
ning of  the  factory. 


in  importance  to  the  centralization  of  executive 
authority  are  clearly  defined  departmental  lines  with  a 
responsible  head  and  assistant  head  for  each  department.  The 
business  which  has  its  factory  departments  so  organized  that 
each  department  head  is  responsible  to  the  works  manager, 
without  any  intervening  bosses,  will  be  far  more  free  from 
internal  dissensions  than  one  in  which  this  is  not  the  case. 

— Hugo  Diemer 

Professor  of  Industrial  Engineering;,  Pennsylvania  State  College 


IV 


AUTHORITY  LIMITS  IN 
CORPORATION  MANAGEMENT 

By  Henry  D.  Martin 
General  Superintendent,  The  I.  E.  Palmer  Company 

NOT  every  factory  executive  need  elaborate  his  or- 
ganization and  chart  it  on  paper  for  his  own  in- 
formation. His  business  may  be  so  much  a  part  of  him- 
self that  he  can  easily  follow  its  details;  but  let  a  new 
man  come  into  the  organization,  and  his  time  and  sal- 
ary are  lost  while  he  is  trying  to  find  himself.  The  re- 
lation of  department  to  department,  therefore,  the 
range  of  authority  of  each  department  head,  the  sub- 
division of  detail  duties — each  of  these  functions  of  an 
executive  organization  needs  to  be  specifically  outlined 
no  matter  what  the  business. 

Since  the  textile  industry  embraces  a  wide  field  of 
manufacturing,  its  executive  and  manufacturing  or- 
ganization is  of  interest  to  all  manufacturers.  That  the 
conditions  affecting  the  textile  industry  are  largely  in- 
clusive can  be  realized  by  a  brief  summary  of  the  busi- 
ness. The  making  of  a  textile  product  is  closely  related 
on  the  one  hand  with  the  growing  of  the  raw  material, 
and  on  the  other  with  the  conditions  involved  in  selling 
the  goods.  This  is,  of  course,  true  in  some  degrees  in 
all  classes  of  manufacturing,  but  in  textile  work,  the 
manufacturer  has  to  consider  the  beginning  and  end 
of  his  business  in  great  detail. 

Take  the  weather  as  a  single  example.    To  be  success- 


CORPORATION    MANAGEMENT 41 

ful,  the  cotton  manufacturer  must  watch  the  cotton 
crop  from  seed  time  to  harvest.  The  processor  of  iron 
and  steel,  wood  or  brass,  is  not  directly  interested  in  how 
his  raw  material  is  made.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fabri- 
cator of  textiles  must  analyze  weather  conditions,  not 
only  because  they  affect  greatly  the  quality  and  price 
of  the  raw  material,  but  because  they  influence  materi- 
ally next  year's  orders.  A  retail  merchant  will  not  re- 
order on  his  stock  of  cotton  goods  if  a  cold  wet  summer 
cuts  the  sales  of  his  stock. 

The  attention  which  the  textile  manufacturer  must 
pay  to  his  raw  material  is  also  well  illustrated  in  the 
silk  industry.  In  several  instances,  silk  worm  culture 
is  an  essential  part  of  silk  making.  The  making  of  the 
raw  material  is  really  a  part  of  the  manufacture  of  the 
fabric. 

HOW  a  chart  helps  to  fix  clearly  and  definitely  the  lines 
of  authority  among  the  executive  officers  of  a  textile 
manufacturing  corporation. 

To  show  clearly  the  practical  organization  of  such  an 
inclusive  business,  the  accompanying  chart  is  helpful 
not  only  to  the  textile  manufacturer,  but  the  manufac- 
turer in  any  line  of  business.  The  relative  positions, 
the  lines  of  authority  of  the  financial,  executive  and 
manufacturing  departments  of  a  big  cotton  mill  are 
graphically  presented  in  Figure  IV.  In  smaller  plants 
less  detail  is  essential,  and  many  of  the  duties  of  the 
officers  shown  would  be  merged  under  one  executive. 

The  diagram  itself  has  a  significant  outline.  The 
stockholders  with  their  delegated  heads  of  authority 
form  the  upper  half  of  an  hour-glass.  The  financial  and 
executive  control  which  they  exercise  is  spread  over  the 
manufacturing  organization  through  the  agent  wha 


42 AUTHORITY    AND     CONTROL 

stands  between  the  executive  and  selling  departments 
and  the  factory.  In  this  position  the  chart  illustrates 
the  investment  aspect  of  organization;  turn  the  hour- 
glass over  and  the  diagram  represents  the  return  on  the 
investment. 

By  diagramming  the  organization  in  this  way,  not  only 
are  the  vital  relations  between  big  departments  of  the 
business  displayed  at  once  for  analysis,  but  the  de- 
pendence of  one  division  on  the  other  is  clearly  seen. 
With  such  a  diagram  before  him,  a  manager  can  study 
out  the  best  methods  of  handling  work  in  his  plant. 
The  classification  of  vital  reports  is  made  especially  easy. 
Starting  with  the  top  row  of  circles,  there  is  represented 
the  financial  group,  the  stockholders.  Although  some 
may  have  invested  more  heavily  and  be  more  influential, 
they  are  all  lined  up  and  linked  together  as  a  unit.  The 
stockholders'  interest  in  operating  focuses  in  a  board 
of  directors.  President,  treasurer,  secretary  and  agent 
are  elected  similarly  by  the  board  and  usually  from  the 
board  of  directors.  As  the  assistant  officers  have  no 
independent  authority,  they  are  represented  by  circles 
included  within  those  which  represent  the  principal 
executives. 

Between  the  superior  officers  and  the  agent,  the 
stenographer's  position  is  shown  merely  as  a  link  in  the 
chain,  not  because  vested  authority  is  to  be  understood. 
The  central  line  of  the  chart  indicates  courses  of  action, 
it  shows  how  vital  is  the  responsibility  of  the  agent.  The 
bounding  line  on  the  chart  is  also  significant,  it  fixes 
the  boundary  of  authority. 

In  the  textile  business,  the  treasurer  is  usually  the 
central  figure.  From  him  radiates  the  directing  force. 
iWhile  he  is  centrally  located  in  one  of  the  great  cities 
where  he  can  keep  in  touch  with  raw  material  buying, 


CORPORATION     MANAGEMENT 


::•:       FOREMEN       ANO'A'SS'I'S'T 
< — i — '*—-• — i — : — • — : — : — \ — • — i       .  > — : — ; — .    :    : — ; — L_ 


ill  . 

illli 


FIGURE  IV      This  "hour-glass"  method  of  picturing  organization  was 

used  in  a  cotton  mill.     It  shows  how  the  lines  of  authority  from  executives 

to  operatives  center  in  the  agent 


44 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

he  is  also  in  close  touch  with  the  factory,  through  the 
agent  and  chief  clerk.  In  the  city,  too,  he  is  in  touch 
with  the  central  distribution  of  the  product.  The 
treasurer  is  the  balance  wheel  of  the  organization. 

The  president  and  secretary,  although  not  always  as- 
sociated in  the  daily  routine  of  the  business,  form  with 
the  treasurer  a  committee  of  conference  on  various  mat- 
ters affecting  the  business.  At  the  factory  the  treasurer 
is  represented  by  two  executives,  the  local  agent  and 
the  chief  clerk.  The  agent  is  the  chief  representative 
of  the  company  and  is  in  charge  of  everything  locally. 
The  treasurer,  however,  may  deal  directly  with  the  chief 
clerk  about  routine  matters  without  conflicting  with  the 
agent. 

The  agent  naturally  has  access  to  all  the  statistics  of 
the  business ;  he  is  the  officer  in  chief  and  is  so  recog- 
nized. On  the  other  hand,  office  detail  is  handled  under 
the  authority  of  the  chief  clerk,  who  is  responsible  to 
the  treasurer,  as  well  as  to  the  agent. 

The  relation  of  the  agent  to  the  manufacturing,  as 
shown  in  Figure  IV,  is  that  of  general  manager;  the 
chief  clerk  keeps  the  record  of  the  business.  The  manu- 
facturing departments  report  through  the  superintend, 
ents  to  the  agent.  Manufacturing  is  divided  into  the 
mechanical,  yarn,  weaving  of  cloth,  print  work  or 
general  finishing  departments. 

These  general  departments  are  each  usually  governed 
by  an  executive  who  has  the  general  supervision  of  the 
manufacturing.  Each  one  of  these  four  departments 
is  subdivided  into  sections  suitable  and  extensive  enough 
to  keep  a  competent  overseer  sufficiently  occupied  to 
make  it  profitable  for  the  company.  This  method  of  sub- 
dividing the  work  of  the  main  business  under  responsible 
heads  is  applicable  in  any  business. 


CORPORATION    MANAGEMENT 45 

A  competent  man  may  be  given  one  or  more  depart- 
ments, divisions  or  sections,  according  to  his  strength 
or  capacity.  However,  an  overseer  is  rarely  given  a 
group  of  sections  or  divisions  that  are  not  closely  re- 
lated. If  he  has  several  divisions,  they  are  usually  of 
the  same  process,  or  of  processes  closely  related  that  suc- 
ceed one  another. 

Each  overseer  has  an  assistant  and  together  with 
these  assistants  these  men  constitute  the  great  link  in 
the  chain  of  organization  which  comes  into  close  contact 
with  the  men  who  actually  perform  the  work  of  carding, 
spinning,  weaving,  together  with  all  its  preparatory 
and  finishing  details,  and  who  must  produce  the  goods 
wanted  by  the  skilful  touch  and  work  of  their  own 
hands. 

Like  the  foremen  in  other  lines  of  work,  the  men  at 
the  head  of  these  detail  departments  must  be  responsible 
for  the  accomplishment  of  the  work.  In  their  choice 
rests  a  great  deal  of  the  success  of  the  men  above  them. 
However  much  their  supervisors,  all  the  way  up  to  the 
president,  may  know  of  the  business,  and  no  matter 
how  well  they  can  perform  the  work  themselves,  their 
chief  employment  is  to  supervise — plan,  govern,  and 
produce  the  goods  through  the  men  who  are  paid  to 
manipulate  the  stock  and  guide  it  through  the  intricate 
and  expensive  machinery  operated  for  the  purpose. 

T  INES  of  executive  authority  which  link  each  officer  of 
JL<  a  corporation  with  every  other,  place  responsibilities 
and  insure  the  correct  processing  of  work. 

Starting  with  the  agent  again,  it  will  be  noticed  that 
the  lines  of  authority  are  evenly  distributed,  descend- 
ing into  the  midst  of  the  work  where  the  foundation  of 
the  manufacturing  starts.  The  agent  gives  the  general 


46 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

superintendent  entire  charge  of  the  manufacturing;  all 
orders  pass  through  him  to  the  departmental  superin- 
tendents of  the  yarn  and  cloth  mills.  The  same  rule  is 
adhered  to  between  the  departmental  superintendents 
and  their  overseers. 

All  of  the  departmental  superintendents,  as  the  chart 
indicates,  have  coordinate  authority.  Ncne  has  higher 
rank  than  the  other,  and  all  closely  cooperate.  Like- 
wise, the  overseers,  although  they  belong  to  different 
departments  and  report  to  different  heads,  are  logically 
bound  closely  together  in  the  general  organization. 

In  detail  the  chart  presented  brings  out  points  which 
ought  to  be  emphasized  in  every  manufacturing  plant. 
Coordination  of  work  is  the  policy  of  this  entire  or- 
ganization. All  executives  are  linked  together.  Know- 
ing his  duties,  each  man  is  absorbed  in  securing  a  proper 
organization,  and  with  that  end  in  view,  his  energy  is 
focused  on  the  point  represented  where  the  lines  from 
each  man  meet.  This  is  true  for  both  financial  and 
manufacturing  divisions  of  the  business.  It  is  even 
more  important  in  handling  the  clerical  work.  The 
central  line,  that  of  authority,  is  the  line  of  action — 
the  boundary  line  is  a  "compact"  line  that  binds  the 
departments  together.  The  boundary  line  also  shows 
the  limit  of  authority  in  each  particular  case.  In  other 
words,  a  company's  business  is  the  business  of  the  com- 
pany, not  of  the  individuals  composing  it. 

Moreover  this  line  emphasizes  another  need  of  organi- 
zation— an  observation  line.  Although  the  orders  from 
authority  are  handled  by  different  departments,  it  is  the 
follow-up  line  of  the  organization. 

At  first  glance  the  double  lines  of  authority  in  the 
textile  mill  organization  may  seem  confusing.  The  ideal 
would  be  a  single  line,  no  doubt,  but  this  chart  repre- 


CORPORATION    MANAGEMENT 47 

sents  practical  working  conditions  and  under  these  con- 
ditions the  agent's  authority  is  more  flexible. 

The  agent  gives  the  orders  in  some  cases  direct  to  the 
master  mechanic  and  to  the  superintendent  of  print 
work.  Oftentimes  there  is  no  general  superintendent, 
but  in  the  organization  outlined,  the  general  superin- 
tendent has  executive  control  over  the  departments  speci- 
fied. Because  of  the  agent's  connection  with  matters 
outside  the  factory — the  water  works  and  houses — his 
relation  to  the  master  mechanic  is  as  indicated  in  the 
figure. 

Because  the  print  works  is  the  last  in  the  chain  of 
manufacture  and  therefore  in  close  touch  with  the  sales 
end  of  the  business,  the  agent's  connection  with  it  is 
logical. 


INDUSTRIAL  organization  has  outgrown  the  one-man 
•*  stage.  Business  is  too  big,  interests  are  too  varied;  one 
man  cannot  do  or  give  enough  to  contain  a  whole  business  in 
himself.  The  corporation — which  signifies  the  resources, 
the  brains,  the  work  of  many  men  merged  for  one  purpose — • 
is  now  the  business  unit. 

—Clarence  M.  Woolley 

President,  American  Radiator  Company 


HOW  TO  KEEP  TAB  ON 
EACH  DAY'S  WORK 

Based  on  Interviews  With 
Six  Factory  Managers 

EXECUTIVES'  time  is  important.  Minor  details 
which  the  private  secretary  or  department  head 
can  handle  as  well  as  the  general  manager  should  not 
be  allowed  to  consume  the  valuable  minutes  of  the  lat- 
ter. A  thousand  and  one  things  come  up  in  the  routine 
of  business,  and  the  fear  that  these  problems  will  be 
incorrectly  dealt  with  must  not  constantly  haunt  the 
man  at  the  head  of  a  large  business.  He  must  be  free 
to  take  hold  of  the  really  important  questions,  the  vital 
things  that  affect  the  fundamental  policies  of  his  busi- 
ness. His  mind  must  not  be  a  jumble  of  heterogeneous, 
unrelated  facts.  He  must  be  able  to  shove  off  the  petty 
responsibilities  and  attack  the  big  problems  with  all  the 
energy  he  is  master  of. 

Nevertheless,  he  must  hold  the  reins  on  all  depart- 
ments. He  must  have  some  plan  which  quickly  and 
surely  puts  him  in  touch  with  the  manner  in  which  his 
subordinates  are  working,  and  shows  him  at  once  the 
tendencies  which  make  for  success  or  failure  and  as- 
sures him  of  being  in  fact  the  guiding  and  controlling 
spirit  of  his  business. 

The  simpler  the  plan  which  the  executive  devises  to 
secure  this  control,  the  more  effective  it  is  likely  to  be. 
Sweep  aside  the  unessential  detail,  and  go  at  once  to  the 


KEEPING    TAB    ON    WORK 49 

heart  of  the  question.  It  may  be  a  matter  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars  or  a  hundred  thousand,  and  yet  not 
require  the  attention  of  anyone  but  a  clerk.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  may  be  a  seemingly  trivial  affair,  yet  if 
the  wrong  decision  means  heavy  continued  loss  of  profit, 
that  is  a  matter  for  your  consideration. 

Following  are  the  plans  used  by  different  factory 
executives  to  keep  track  of  what  is  going  on  under  them. 
One  of  them  will  meet  the  needs  of  your  business  also, 
or  suggest  methods  for  your  own  procedure. 

rpO  HAVE  reports  put  in  writing,  S.  D.  Rider,  vice- 
JL    president  of  the  South  Bend  Watch  Company  finds, 
enables  him  to  make  his  decisions  clean-cut. 

The  vice-president  of  the  South  Bend  Watch  Com- 
pany demands  written  reports  always.  He  says:  It 
has  been  my  experience  that  there  is  not  any  method  of 
watching  one's  business  that  will  apply  to  all  situations 
and  conditions.  In  our  own  case  I  receive  daily  writ- 
ten reports  of  orders  taken,  shipments  made,  finished 
production,  and  cash  receipts  and  disbursements.  I 
receive  weekly  written  reports  showing  the  progress  of 
our  production  through  the  factory,  and  in  addition  to 
this  have  weekly  conferences  with  the  heads  of  some  de- 
partments, in  order  to  determine  ways  and  means  of 
facilitating  the  production  or  sale  of  goods. 

Written  reports  are,  of  course,  the  basis  from  which 
we  can  direct  our  efforts  in  working  toward  the  im- 
provement of  our  business.  Personally  I  do  not  believe 
in  verbal  reports  and  never  accept  them  except  in  rare 
instances.  There  are  two  reasons  for  this.  The  princi- 
pal reason  is  that  the  party  or  head  of  the  department 
making  the  report  is  apt  to  over  or  underestimate  the 
actual  conditions,  and  there  is  also  the  possibility  that 


50 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

if  this  fact  is  taken  up  with  him  at  a  later  date  he  will 
forget  just  what  statement  he  did  make.  Written  re- 
ports make  these  conditions  impossible. 

I  also  believe  that  after  a  man  has  made  a  written 
report  or  an  estimate  of  what  he  expects  to  accomplish 
that  he  is  going  to  put  forth  greater  effort  in  order  to 
bring  about  the  estimated  result.  I  am  also  of  the  opin- 
ion that  the  giving  of  verbal  reports  is  apt  to  load  all 
of  the  responsibility  on  the  chief  executive  and  this,  I 
believe,  would  be  entirely  wrong.  In  order  to  accom- 
plish the  best  results  it  is  necessary  for  every  one  in  the 
organization  to  realize  that  his  work  and  his  position 
are  just  as  important  as  that  of  any  other  person,  and 
his  responsibility  just  as  great  as  that  of  any  other 
person  in  the  organization.  \ 

BY   departmentizing  his   production   reports,    Roger 
Keith,  assistant  treasurer  of  the  Brockton  Webbing 
Company,  quickly  gets  the  story  of  work  in  his  factory. 

The  assistant  treasurer  of  the  Brockton  "Webbing 
Company  gets  his  story  in  seven  reports.  He  says :  Our 
plant  is  comparatively  small  and  we  need  no  elaborate 
system.  Foreman's  reports,  however,  handed  in  to  the 
superintendent  at  regular  intervals,  keep  us  in  close 
touch  with  everything  that  is  going  on  in  the  factory. 

Our  mill  is  devoted  exclusively  to  the  manufacture 
of  narrow  cotton  fabrics.  The  system  used  and  its  re- 
ports and  the  relations  they  bear  to  the  general  office, 
the  mill  office  and  each  other  is  quite  simple.  The  meas- 
urer turns  in  daily  to  the  mill  office  a  report  showing 
only  the  irregularities  of  any  nature,  such  as  a  shortage 
in  the  number  of  pieces,  and  so  on.  He  also  makes  a 
report  daily  to  the  general  office  showing  the  amount  and 
the  kind  measured,  but  making  no  special  note  of  irregu- 


KEEPING    TAB    ON    WORK 51 

larities.  From  the  measurer,  in  addition  to  this  report, 
there  comes  to  the  mill  office  at  least  once  each  week, 
or  oftener  if  called  for,  a  small  sample  of  goods  from 
each  loom.  These  are  turned  over  to  the  designing 
record  of  the  "picks"  and  "ends"  in  each  piece,  re- 
turning those  that  are  not  correct  to  the  mill  office.  , 

The  floorman's  report  is  given  by  the  man  who  takes 
off  the  work  and  shows  irregularities  noted  by  him,  such 
as  the  running  out  of  a  warp,  and  goes  only  to  the  mill 
office.  This  report  should  prove  up  with  the  measurer's 
report.  As  these  reports  give  only  irregularities,  it  is 
not  necessary  for  the  mill  office  to  waste  any  time.  At- 
tention may  be  focused  at  once  on  the  proper  loom. 

The  same  is  true  of  a  report  which  is  along  the  same 
lines  and  comes  from  the  designing  department  twice  a 
day.  A  man  from  this  department  makes  a  trip  among 
the  looms  and  hands  in  a  report  showing  irregularities 
in  length,  width,  and  so  on.  A  duplicate  report  goes  to 
the  loom  fixer  of  each  section  and  he  at  once  endeavors 
to  correct  errors.  A  good  result  of  this  particular  re- 
port is  that  the  loom  fixer,  knowing  that  it  is  going  to 
the  mill  office  twice  a  day,  strives  to  do  his  best  to  have 
a  "clean  sheet"  turned  in  for  his  loom  section.  A  re- 
port from  this  department  also  goes  to  the  general  office 
showing  the  changes  in  patterns.  The  foregoing  reports 
pick  out  the  flaws  and  bother  in  no  way  the  work  that  is 
going  along  normally. 

Reports  come  also  from  the  yarn  department,  under 
which  department  is  included  the  baled  yarn,  the  wind- 
ing and  the  warping.  The  first  of  these  is  a  weekly  re- 
port, and  shows  the  amount  of  work  done  by  the  warpers 
(girls  on  time  pay).  It  gives  the  time  spent  at  their 
machine  and  the  machine's  output  and  a  detailed  de- 
scription of  the  work  they  are  turning  out,  with  length, 


AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 


color,  number  of  ends,  size  of  yarn,  and  so  on.  There 
is  also  a  chance  for  remarks,  giving  the  girl  the  »oppor- 
tunity  of  explaining  any  deficiency.  These  reports  are 
individual  ones  which  girls  keep  themselves  under  the 
supervision  of  the  foreman  who  is  responsible  for  their 
transmission  to  the  mill  office.  The  second  of  these  yarn 
department  reports  is  the  foreman's  weekly  report 
showing  the  amount  of  unwound  yarn  on  hand,  giving 
size,  ply  and  color.  A  duplicate  of  this  goes  to  the  gen- 
eral office  for  use  in  the  ordering  of  the  yarn. 

An  *  '  irregularity  '  '  report  showing  the  bad  work  made 
by  the  mill  in  sum  total  and  that  made  by  each  indi- 
vidual weaver  is  sent  to  the  mill  office.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  important  factors  because  at  the  present  time 
in  several  states  you  must  pay  for  all  work  turned  out 
by  the  weavers.  One  can  not  now  either  deduct  for 
poor  work  or  fine  for  bad  work.  As  the  weaver's  natural 
desire  is  to  turn  out  quantity,  not  quality,  we  watch  this 
department  closely,  and  our  reports  enable  us  to  deter- 
mine the  value  to  us  of  one  weaver  over  another.  This 
report  is  a  weekly  one,  but  is  kept  in  sucn  a  way  as  to 
be  available  daily  if  so  desired. 

The  loom  fixers  send  a  report  to  the  mill  office  every 
month  which  shows  the  use  of  new  parts  on  the  looms. 
Looms  have  hundreds  of  parts,  and  it  is  essential  that  we 
keep  a  record  of  the  wear  and  tear  of  certain  parts.  By 
so  doing  we  are  able  to  tell  the  frequency  of  renewal 
and  the  average.  An  account  also  can  be  kept  of  the 
number  of  breaks  on  one  loom  as  compared  with  that  on 
another  and  the  mill  office  can  make  its  own  deduc- 
tions as  to  whether  it  should  be  charged  to  carelessness 
on  the  weaver's  part  or  to  the  age  and  depreciation  of 
the  loom. 

"With  the  above  seven  reports,  the  mill  office,  and  to 


KEEPING    TAB    ON    WORK 5§ 

a  certain  extent  the  general  office,  is  kept  in  touch  with 
the  workings  of  the  mill.  At  the  same  time,  however, 
we  do  not  neglect  personal  supervision,  which  is  a  neces- 
sary and  important  factor  in  the  smooth  working  of  an 
organization. 

THE  belief  of  E.  Howard  Reed,  superintendent  of  the 
Reed  &  Prince  Manufacturing  Company,  is  in  per- 
sonal contact  with  his  men  rather  than  in  reports. 

In  a  similar  connection,  E.  Howard  Reed  says:  We 
make  some  use  of  detailed  reports,  but  do  not  believe 
these  are  of  much  value  when  they  contain  details  too 
minute  to  be  given  proper  attention.  In  other  words, 
with  a  given  amount  of  time  it  is  impossible  to  go  into 
detail  beyond  a  point  which  is  hard  to  define  and  yet 
which  already  exists. 

"We  have  a  monthly  meeting  of  department  foremen 
for  a  general  discussion  of  such  items  as  are  of  interest 
to  all  or  most  of  the  manufacturing  departments.  This 
meeting  is  supplemented  by  following  up  various  lines 
through  the  factory  from  month  to  month,  and  keeping 
in  personal  touch  with  conditions. 

Personal  contact  with  conditions  as  they  are  rather 
than  with  theory  of  what  they  should  be  is  perhaps  the 
vital  point  in  the  whole  matter  of  keeping  in  touch  with 
the  factory. 

THE  superintendent    of   the    Chicago  factory  of  the 
Federal  Sign  System  (Electric),  L.G.  Shepard,  se- 
cures control  by  both  reports  and  personal  supervision. 

L.  G.  Shepard  keeps  close  watch  on  delayed  ma- 
terial. He  says :  There  is  a  foreman  at  the  head  of  each 
department  who  keeps  the  orders  upon  which  he  is  work- 
ing at  his  desk.  I  make  it  a  point  to  go  through  the  fac- 


54 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

tory  as  often  as  possible  and  it  is  by  taking  up  the  orders 
in  the  several  departments  with  the  foremen  that  the 
master  mechanic,  his  assistants  and  I  get  in  closest  touch 
with  the  work. 

In  addition  to  this  system  I  have  every  foreman  make 
out  what  we  call  a  "delayed  order  form"  when  any 
order  is  held  in  his  department  for  any  reason  whatever. 
This  form  is  a  notification  to  me  of  the  trouble  and  I 
send  it  to  the  purchasing  agent,  stock  clerk  or  other 
persons  as  a  notification  to  hurry  along  the  material  that 
is  holding  up  the  order. 

In  addition  to  making  an  extra  effort  on  this  particu- 
lar material,  this  person  or  department  makes  a  nota- 
tion of  the  probable  length  of  delay  and  sends  the  form 
to  the  order  department  where  the  shop  orders  are  origi- 
nally made  out  and  who  are  supposed  to  keep  in  touch 
with  the  progress  of  the  orders  through  the  factory  by 
sending  a  man  from  their  department  to  the  different 
foremen  regularly.  The  order  department  uses  this 
form  to  notify  the  customers  of  the  unexpected  delay. 

The  billing  department  gives  me  a  report  daily  of  the 
amount  of  material  shipped  by  the  factory.  I  am  also 
in  touch  with  a  report  of  business  contracted,  and, 
therefore,  I  am  advised  daily  in  round  figures  of  the 
amount  of  business  in  process. 

REPORTS  which  show  the  exact  state  of  orders  keep 
Robert  F.  Schmidt,   Superintendent  of  the  Office 
Specialty  Manufacturing  Company,  in  touch  with  work. 

Kobert  F.  Schmidt  says:  In  our  system  each  de- 
partment sends  to  the  office  a  daily  report  of  the  orders 
it  has  closed  and  forwarded  to  other  departments.  Every 
order  is  entered  before  being  sent  out  to  the  factory, 
and  so  by  having  the  necessary  columns  on  the  right 


KEEPING    TAB    ON    WORK 55 

side  of  the  entry  sheets  it  is  a  simple  matter  to  put  in 
the  date  that  the  order  has  left  the  department.  This 
not  only  gives  us  a  check  when  the  orders  leave  the  de- 
partments, but  also  gives  us  the  time  that  this  order 
has  been  held  in  the  different  departments.  Therefore, 
when  we  receive  any  inquiries  as  to  how  soon  we  can 
complete  an  order,  we  simply  look  up  the  sheets,  as- 
certaining in  what  department  the  order  is  held  and  if 
it  is  near  the  finishing  and  enameling  room  we  can  then 
give  a  promise  without  getting  it  from  the  factory. 

This  applies  to  all  orders  whether  in  stock  or  special, 
and  although  we  are  handling  over  a  thousand  orders 
a  month  we  have  found  that  this  method  is  very  simple 
and  helpful.  But  as  we  have  both  a  metal  and  wood 
factory,  we  enter  on  the  sheets  all  the  metal  orders  in 
red  and  all  the  wood  in  black,  so  that  when  an  inquiry 
comes  in  we  can  tell  in  a  minute  whether  it  is  a  wood 
or  metal  order.  As  soon  as  our  order  department  re- 
ceives the  output  forms  from  the  shipping  departments 
it  is  recorded  in  our  office  and  entered  on  the  sheets  as 
being  shipped,  giving  the  date.  It  is  a  very  simple 
method  and  it  does  not  require  any  skillful  help.  We 
have  found  it  the  most  useful  record  we  have  in  the  fac- 
tory. 

/CONDENSED  reports  which  have  no  unnecessary  de- 
V-'  tails  keep  the  office  manager  of  a  button  factory  in 
perspective  upon  the  big  facts  of  his  business. 

The  office  manager  of  a  button  factory  does  not  believe 
the  executive  should  be  burdened  too  heavily  with  de- 
tailed reports  in  which  he  is  liable  not  to  see  at  a  glance 
the  point  of  most  vital  importance.  He  says:  Our  ex- 
perience in  keeping  the  chief  executive  in  touch  with 
the  factory  has  been  that  it  is  not  advisable  to  provide 


56 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

the  executive  with  a  large  mass  of  detail  figures  in  the 
form  of  periodical  reports.  The  chief  executive  of  any 
business  is  usually  too  busy  to  take  time  to  draw 
proper  conclusions  from  these  figures,  even  though  they; 
may  be  of  value  and  interest. 

We  prepare  for  our  chief  executive  a  condensed  re- 
port which  enables  him  to  gauge  successfully  the  opera- 
tions of  our  business.  This  report  gives  the  following 
information:  The  increase  or  decrease  of  merchandise 
in  the  factory  for  the  preceding  month  in  six  divisions 
ranging  from  raw  material  to  finished  product.  The  re: 
port  does  not  show  the  amount  on  hand,  but  shows 
where  there  has  been  an  increase  or  decrease  in  each 
division  in  both  quantity  and  value. 

The  report  gives  this  information  not  only  for  the 
preceding  month,  but  gives  information  showing  the  in- 
crease or  decrease  since  the  beginning  of  the  fiscal  year. 
The  increase  or  decrease  in  these  six  divisions  is  totaled 
to  show  the  entire  increase  or  decrease  of  merchandise 
for  the  period. 

From  this  report  the  executive  is  able  to  tell  whether 
the  factory  is  tying  up  more  or  less  capital  and  in  what 
divisions.  If  further  information  is  desired  the  cost 
department  is  prepared  to  furnish  detail  information 
which  can  be  taken  up  with  the  superintendent  of  the 
division  concerned. 

The  report  shows  the  increase  or  decrease  in  cash  on 
hand,  accounts  receivable  and  other  miscellaneous  lia- 
bilities, the  estimated  amount  of  profit  for  the  month 
and  from  the  beginning  of  the  fiscal  year,  the  amount 
of  sales  for  the  month  and  from  the  beginning  of  the 
fiscal  year,  compared  also  with  the  corresponding  period 
for  the  previous  year.  All  this  information  is  given  on 
a  single  sheet  measuring  four  by  six  inches. 


KEEPING    TAB    ON    WORK 57 

It  can  readily  be  seen  that  with  this  information 
placed  on  the  executive's  desk  by  the  tenth  of  the  fol- 
lowing month  he  is  able  to  tell  at  a  glance  just  what 
the  business  is  doing.  Detailed  reports  on  any  one  sub- 
ject can  be  supplied  if  he  wishes  them,  but  these  few  and 
simple  reports  give  him  in  concise  form  the  big  general 
outlines  of  the  efficiency  of  the  operating  departments, 
the  progress  of  the  sales  department,  and  the  net  result 
in  amount  of  profit. 


management  of  the  large  corporation  is  to  do  for  in- 
dustry  what  the  inventor  has  done  with  machinery;  for, 
after  all,  a  machine  is  simply  organized  thought,  and  while  no 
patents  are  granted  for  improvements  in  management,  there 
are  just  as  real  inventions  in  the  field  of  organization  and 
management  as  in  the  field  of  mechanic  arts. 

— James  Logan 

Chairman  Executive  Board,  United  States  Envelope  Company 


VI 


HOW  SCIENTIFIC  MANAGE- 
MENT IS  APPLIED 

By  Neil  M.  Clark 

EVER  since  the  rise  of  factory  production,  the  con- 
test between  employer  and  employee  has  been 
growing  more  marked.  Employers  have  tended  to  exact 
a  bigger  day's  work  from  employees,  employees  have 
steadily  resisted.  Against  the  silent  perseverance  of  la- 
borers, tactless  attempts  on  the  part  of  manufacturers 
to  secure  bigger  results  from  the  human  element  in  the 
factory  have  been  of  little  avail.  Mechanical  genius 
can  devise  new  methods  of  speeding  up  machines  and 
increasing  their  output;  but  men  have  the  wit  and  fre- 
quently the  will  which  enables  them  to  avoid  giving 
their  employer  a  full  day 's  work. 

The  failure  to  secure  maximum  efficiency  from  men 
has  been  primarily  due  to  the  lack  of  knowledge  on  the 
part  of  managers  as  to  what  constitutes  a  full  day's 
work.  Their  employees,  naturally,  are  not  eager  to  tell 
them,  when  so  doing  means  simply  an  increase  in  the 
amount  of  work  demanded  without  an  adequate  increase 
in  wages. 

The  tendency  of  day  wages,  at  least  under  ordinary 
conditions,  is  to  make  all  men  work  at  the  same  rate, 
usually  at  the  rate  of  the  slowest  man  instead  of  the 
fastest.  Paying  what  the  labor  is  worth  regardless  of 
the  individual  performance  of  the  laborer  has  been  a 


SCIENTIFIC     MANAGEMENT 59 

prevalent  fault.  Shoveling  dirt  from  a  ditch  for  ten 
hours  has  seemed  to  be  worth  two  dollars.  And  that  is 
the  rate  at  which  every  trench  digger  works,  whether  he 
lifts  six  tons  of  dirt  a  day  or  nine. 

/CUTTING  hastily  set  piece  rates  is  often  the  cause  of 
^^  hostility  on  the  part  of  employees;  the  scientific 
manager  works  on  the  basis  of  accurate  knowledge. 

Under  haphazard  management  there  is  no  distinction 
between  the  worker  who  is  naturally  fast  and  the  man 
who  habitually  lags  behind.  And  it  is  only  natural  that 
in  a  large  gang  of  laborers  governed  by  no  spirit  of 
competition,  where  each  man  receives  exactly  the  same 
pay  as  every  other  man,  the  slow  worker  sets  the  pace. 
What  incentive  is  there  for  the  man  who  can  easily 
shovel  nine  tons  of  dirt  in  a  day  to  tire  himself  out, 
when  he  receives  no  more  pay  or  praise  than  the  man 
who  shovels  only  six? 

Realizing  that  the  full  day's  work  was  not  being 
given,  many  managers  attempted  to  secure  it  by  putting 
men  on  piece  work  instead  of  day  work.  At  once  out- 
put began  to  increase,  and  workmen  extended  them- 
selves to  the  limit  in  order  to  win  the  greater  rewards 
thus  promised  them.  Men  who  had  earned  $2.50  a  day 
before,  began  to  make  double  and  even  triple  that 
amount,  and  their  employers  immediately  saw  the  re- 
serves of  effort  which  they  had  failed  to  draw  on. 

Unwisely,  after  the  initial  mistake  of  setting  inaccu- 
rate piece  work  rates,  employers  began  to  cut  these  rates ; 
so  that  the  laborer  had  to  work  faster  than  ever  before 
to  assure  himself  of  receiving  his  former  wages.  The 
unwisdom  of  hastily  set  piece  rates  which  are  frequently 
cut  has  had  much  to  do  with  alienating  employee  from 
employer  and  is  the  cause — perhaps  more  than  any  other 


60 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

one  thing — of  the  hostility  with  which  workmen  of  to- 
day view  every  attempt  to  gear  up  their  productive 
efforts  to  a  higher  speed. 

Accurate  knowledge  of  the  right  way  of  doing  things 
and  the  right  time  they  should  be  done  in,  careful  study 
to  find  the  "one  best"  way,  is  what  differentiates  the 
concern  governed  by  principles  of  scientific  management 
from  systematized  or  unsystematized  organizations. 
Thousands  of  stop-watch  observations  are  made  before  a 
single  standard  is  set.  Each  operation  is  carefully  ana- 
lyzed into  its  component  operations,  and  those  which  are 
necessary  are  kept;  those  which  are  unnecessary,  elimi- 
nated. Tabulation,  analysis,  comparison — all  enter  into 
the  program  of  the  scientific  manager,  exactly  as  they 
enter  into  the  researches  of  the  chemist  or  physicist. 
And  like  the  scientist,  also,  the  student  of  improved 
management  constantly  seeks  to  evolve  from  his  mass 
of  observations  general  laws  which  will  aid  him  in  fu- 
ture investigations. 

Lower  labor  cost  with  higher  individual  wages  is  his 
purpose;  and  the  method  of  procedure  is  that  of  the 
laboratory  expert.  He  seeks  to  be  perfectly  open-minded 
and  fair-minded.  Wherever  there  may  be  waste,  his 
eyes  are  open  to  perceive  it;  and  having  seen  it,  he  is 
not  blinded  by  the  near  view  of  his  problems,  refusing 
to  install  and  enforce  the  up-to-date,  "one  best"  method. 

The  primary  thing  to  acquire,  then,  in  approaching  the 
problem  of  better  management  is  the  scientific  attitude 
of  mind  which  bends  itself  to  the  probing  of  every  oper- 
ation and  circumstance,  and  establishes  the  scientific 
method  for  each  performance.  The  one,  and  perhaps 
only,  indispensable  mechanical  requisite  in  this  system 
is  the  stop-watch.  The  leaders  in  scientific  manage- 
ment have  again  and  again  sounded  warnings  against 


SCIENTIFIC    MANAGEMENT 61 

adopting  merely  the  hollow  shell  of  the  thing,  and  failing 
to  catch  its  essential  spirit. 

Specialization,  so  distinctive  a  feature  in  modern  in- 
dustrial organization,  reaches  its  highest  application  in 
the  theory  and  practice  of  scientific  management.  It 
reveals  itself  first  in  the  broad  division  of  all  work  into 
the  two  fields  of  planning  and  doing,  considering  these 
functions  as  essentially  opposite  in  nature,  to  be  per- 
formed (for  the  attainment  of  highest  efficiency)  by 
different  individuals.  This  first  broad  aspect  of 
specialization  indicates  the  nature  of  the  second,  which 
takes  its  place  in  the  organization  as  the  division  of  func- 
tions into  staff  duties.  In  place  of  the  single  foreman 
who  is  responsible  for  all  matters  concerning  orders, 
men,  materials  and  machines  in  his  department,  scien- 
tific management  substitutes  a  number  of  "  functional 
bosses,"  each  of  whom  is  a  specialist  in  one  line.  The 
old  idea  of  the  slave-driving  foreman  disappears.  In 
its  place  comes  the  newer,  more  scientific  idea  of  help- 
ing, training  and  inspiring  the  workman. 

SCIENTIFIC   management  separates  planning  from 
doing,  sets  standards,  trains  and  rewards  the  work- 
man— how  the  "functional  foremen"  operate. 

The  program  of  scientific  management  resolves  itself 
into  a  number  of  specific  problems.  Standardizing  con- 
ditions and  operations  by  thorough  investigation;  plan- 
ning work  on  the  basis  of  these  standards;  selecting  fit 
workmen  and  training  them  in  the  performance  of  the 
"one  best"  way;  providing  adequate  compensation  for 
their  increased  output;  making  the  system  self -perpetu- 
ating— these  are  the  fundamental  things  to  do  if  yon 
seek  to  manage  scientifically. 

In  the  first  place,  every  operation  is  to  be  investigated 


62 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

thoroughly,  waste  movements  and  unnecessary  effort 
eliminated  and  the  final  result  set  as  the  standard.  The 
stop-watch  guides  the  investigator  in  this  work.  But 
She  must  also  standardize  conditions.  There  may  be  a 
"one  best"  way,  and  a  standard  time,  for  carrying  pig 
iron  from  a  pile  and  loading  a  car  one  hundred  feet 
distant.  It  may,  however,  be  possible  by  the  simple 
expedient  of  changing  the  place  of  the  car  or  the  pile  of 
pig,  greatly  to  change  conditions  and  labor  cost  from 
the  first  standard. 

Once  the  standard  times  and  conditions  have  been 
established,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  planning  de- 
partment to  analyze  orders,  and  furnish  workmen  speci- 
fic jobs,  with  each  necessary  operation  plainly  written 
out  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  mistake  it.  This  depart- 
ment also  sees  that  instructions  are  forwarded  to  the 
stock  room  and  tool  room  so  that  no  delay  need  be  caused 
at  the  machine  because  materials  have  run  out  or  tools 
are  not  on  hand.  When  the  workman  receives /the  in- 
struction card,  men  are  ready  to  explain  details  of  the 
operation  which  he  does  not  understand — trainers,  who 
show  him  exactly  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it.  There 
is  another  man  who  repairs  his  machine  if  it  breaks,  but 
whose  chief  duty  is  to  see  that  it  is  in  perfect  condition 
all  the  time.  Another  man  regulates  the  speed  of  the 
machine;  and,  as  other  functions  and  duties  appear  in 
different  organizations,  scientific  management  provides 
functional  specialists  to  perform  them. 

The  incentive  offered  the  operative  varies  in  different 
kinds  of  work  and  with  different  classes  of  workers.  It 
may  be  a  simple  piece  rate,  a  differential  piece  rate,  a 
task  and  bonus  method  of  payment — any  one  of  a  num- 
ber of  payment  plans  may  be  adopted  to  arouse  the 
worker's  enthusiasm.  The  point  not  to  lose  sight  of, 


SCIENTIFIC    MANAGEMENT 68 

however,  is  that  the  purpose  of  any  incentive  is  to  in- 
duce the  workman  to  perform,  his  task  in  the  "one  best" 
way  and  in  the  standard  time. 

To  be  self -perpetuating,  the  organization  must  draw 
its  leaders  from  the  ranks  of  its  workmen.  Men  who 
have  reached  the  standard  rate  of  efficiency  as  operatives, 
who  are  known  as  capable  and  reliable  men,  should  be 
selected  as  investigators  and  functional  bosses  with  the 
path  open  ahead  of  them  to  higher  positions  as  fast  as 
they  show  the  ability.  Thus,  beyond  the  mere  incentive 
of  the  day's  wages,  there  is  the  call  of  ambition  and  the 
possibility  of  a  better  future  open  to  thorough  work- 
men. 

In  a  way,  scientific  management  has  made  the  opera- 
tive the  driving  force  of  the  factory.  Trained  investi- 
gators are  there  to  help  him  find  his  own  highest  effi- 
ciency. Foremen,  one  and  all,  and  the  entire  planning 
department,  work  to  keep  him  supplied  with  tasks. 
Messenger  boys  run  to  the  stock  room  to  find  materials 
when  he  requires  them,  or  to  bring  tools  to  meet  his 
needs.  Other  laborers  carry  away  his  finished  product; 
and  as  soon  as  the  last  stroke  of  work  is  done  on  one 
piece  of  work,  another  job  is  furnished  him,  carefully 
planned  and  thought  out.  The  speed  boss  is  also  at 
hand  to  determine  the  proper  speed  the  machine  shall 
run  at,  the  repair  boss  to  see  that  the  machine  is  in  fit 
condition.  In  short,  the  operative  operates;  the  plan- 
ning department  plans,  the  foreman  exercises  authority 
in  the  one  field  in  which  he  is  a  specialist. 

There  is  joy  in  work  accomplished  to  the  full  of  a 
man's  ability,  and  for  the  laborer  it  is  mentally  and 
morally  stimulating  to  do  his  best.  Wheeling  dirt  from 
seven  to  six  is,  under  ordinary  conditions,  as  soul-dead' 
ening  as  any  work  in  the  world.  Introduce  into  it  a 


64 AUTHORITY    AND    CONTROL 

epirit  of  competition,  give  the  workman  a  task  to  ac- 
complish, an  incentive  to  do  his  best,  and  having  estab- 
lished scientifically  what  "the  best"  is,  your  work  will 
go  forward  in  greater  volume  than  ever  before.  The 
workman,  moreover,  usually  finds  himself  happier. 

Accurate  knowledge  did  away  with  the  superstitions 
and  vague  beliefs  that  clung  to  natural  sciences  in  the 
middle  ages.  Accurate  knowledge  in  the  shop  is  the 
chief  opponent  of  deceit  and  inefficiency  in  factory  work 
and  factory  administration. 


^PHE  development  of  any  manufacturing  business  today 
•*•  and  the  plans  for  growth  in  any  factory  hinge  on  this  one 
idea — specialization.  In  practically  all  lines  of  work — 
machine  shops,  shoe  factories,  textile  mills,  woodworking 
plants — the  way  to  get  more  and  better  work  done,  is  to 
cut  one  job  up  into  little  jobs;  make  one  man  responsible  for 
that  one  little  part.  Two  ends  are  gained  by  this  method  of 
manufacture — greater  production  per  man,  with  consequent 
lower  costs  and  accuracy. 

—E.  H.  Ahara 

General  Superintendent,  Dodge  Manufacturing  Company 


PART  II-BUILDING  AND 
EQUIPPING  THE  PLANT 

Delegate  Details 

A  NALYZE  the  career  of  the  successful  business 
**  manager  and  you  will  find  that  he  has  done 
two  things :  by  elimination  and  selection  he  has 
fitted  competent  men  to  the  places  at  which  the 
work  focuses;  by  system  he  has  so  shifted  detail 
to  the  shoulders  of  subordinates,  as  still  to  keep 
the  essential  facts  under  his  own  hand. 

This  pyramid  of  subordinate  authority  keeps 
him  above  the  routine  and  in  command,  giving 
him  the  freedom  necessary  to  decide  policies  and 
to  plan  ahead.  His  daily  production  reports  are 
a  sure  barometer  of  efficient  and  effective  opera- 
tion. When  work  goes  wrong  he  knows  where 
and  at  once  reaches  the  man  responsible. 

The  young  executive,  ambitious  to  do  the 
whole  day's  work  himself,  often  neglects  to 
delegate  detail  and  responsibility  to  the  proper 
subordinates,  and  so  is  crushed  by  his  load.  No 
man's  place  is  more  than  a  stone  in  the  pyramid. 
Success  in  factory  organization  lies  in  the  selec- 
tion of  competent  helpers  and  their  realization  of 
responsibility  combined  with  judicious  latitude 
of  authority. 

The  secret  of  successful  management  may  be 
summed  up  as  follows:  Organize,  Deputize  and 
Supervise. 


WILLIAM  A.  FIELD 

Superintendent,  Illinois  Steel  Company,  South  Works 


VII 

WHAT  TO  GET  IN  A 
FACTORY  SITE 

By  Hugo  Diemer 
Professor  of  Industrial  Engineering,  Pennsylvania  State  College 

FACTORY  location  is  a  problem  which  presents  two 
general  aspects :  first,  the  choice  of  a  town  or  city, 
and  second,  the  site  within  the  town  or  city.  Location 
means  everything  to  a  retail  establishment.  As  a  rule 
it  means  less  to  the  factory;  yet  its  real  importance  is 
often  overlooked.  A  well  managed  factory  may  fail  in 
a  poor  location  while  a  poorly  managed  one  often  owes 
its  very  existence  to  the  location. 

The  selection  of  a  town  or  city  for  a  factory  site  ia 
influenced  by  considerations  regarding:  (1)  raw  ma- 
terial, (2)  labor,  (3)  transportation,  (4)  market,  and 
(5)  money  outlay. 

So  far  as  the  cost  of  raw  material  is  concerned,  that 
location  will  be  the  best  which  will  make  total  resultant 
freight  charges  of  all  raw  materials  the  minimum.  As 
a  simple  example,  take  the  case  of  an  establishment 
manufacturing  paving  brick.  It  has  been  estimated  that 
the  relative  weights  of  clay,  finished  product,  and  coal 
required  in  this  industry  are  approximately  as  40,  30 
and  3,  respectively.  In  a  case  of  this  sort  it  is  evident 
that  in  choosing  a  site  near  coal  fields,  clay  beds,  or 
distributing  centers,  the  most  advantageous  point  would 
"be  next  to  the  clay  beds.  Of  course,  the  combination 
of  several  favorably  influencing  conditions  will  be  mora 


68 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

desirable,  such  as  clay  beds  with  cheap  fuel  close  at 
hand.  Such  conditions  exist  in  natural  gas  fields  in 
several  sections  of  the  country. 

From  the  standpoint  of  ease  of  securing  satisfactory 
labor,  the  city  presents  a  far  more  advantageous  labor 
market  than  a  town  or  country  site. 

RIGHT  location  requires  that  the  factory  be  near  labor 
supplies  and  transportation,  and  convenient  to  the 
most  important  sources  of  its  raw  materials. 

Skilled  labor  is  most  easily  obtained  on  short  notice 
in  a  city.  In  the  country  town  labor  is  cheaper,  and  the 
workmen  are  likely  to  be  more  contented.  They  are 
likely  to  marry  and  have  homes  in  pleasant  surround- 
ings, and  the  inducements  for  wasting  their  earnings  are 
not  so  great  as  in  the  city.  At  the  same  time  the  coun- 
try factory  is  expected  to  exercise  a  paternal  interest 
in  the  employees  and  town — a  responsibility  from  which 
the  city  factory  is  relieved. 

A  suburban  site,  convenient  to  a  belt  railway  such  as 
exists  in  most  of  the  larger  trade  centers,  presents  many 
advantages  over  either  city  or  country.  It  permits  the 
purchase  of  sufficient  ground  for  a  factory  site  to  al- 
low for  future  expansion.  It  has  the  labor  market  of 
the  city  to  draw  from  and  offers  the  workmen  who 
choose  to  live  close  at  hand,  the  opportunity  of  pleasant 
home  sites. 

The  cost  of  transportation  of  both  raw  material  and 
finished  products  is  a  factor  of  vital  importance  to  the 
manufacturer  who  is  at  the  mercy  of  a  single  railroad. 
It  is  very  desirable  to  have  a  location  which  affords  a 
choice  of  several  routes  or  possibly  a  choice  between 
railway  or  waterway.  Water  transportation  has  the 
advantage  of  cheapness,  whereas  the  railroad  is  faster. 


FACTORY    LOCATION 


FACTORY 

LOCATION" 


MARKET 


I  COMPETITION 

1  CENTERS. QF  DISTRIBUTION 

fc 


MONEY  OUTUAY 


MM 

IMPROVEMENTS  <f   ROAD3 

I    GRADING; 

NO  COOCS 

O  BUILDING  MATERIJ 


V 

tBUUDINOCOC 
PROXIMITY  T< 


f  POWER 

MAINTENANCE  <   LIGHT 
I  WATER 


EXPANSION 


INtOTFALLACN°0STiC*8— 
FREC  SITI 


TAXE9 
N6URANCC 
REPAIRS 


LA2O3 


ENVIRONMEN- 


NUMBER. 
AVAILABLE 


TRANS- 
PORTATION 


RAW  MATERIAL 


WATER  ROUTES 

RAILWAY 

STREET  CARS 
TRUCKING 

;»DUNOANC'E 
'ROXIMITV 


f  HEALTHFUL  LOCATION 
DISTRACTION 

{UNSKILLED 
SKILLED 

JIN  CITV 

1  NEARBY  TOWNS 

JCANAL 

DRIVER 

I  NUMBER 

<   SWITCHING  FACILITIES 
I  TRAFFIC  RATES 

/FOR  EMPLOYEES 

{DELIVERING  RAW  MATCRL 
:HARGES 


FIGURE  V:    Practically  all  considerations  affecting  the  location  of  the 

factory  are  shown  in  this  chart.     Before  choosing  a  site,  every  one  of  the 

points  noted  should  carefully  be  studied 


70 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

A  factory  whose  product  is  bulky  and  does  not  suffer 
from  slight  moisture,  would  be  advantageously  located 
on  a  waterway.  The  greater  expense  of  railroad  trans- 
portation is  largely  due  to  the  high  speed  demanded 
for  passenger  traffic.  A  system  of  freight  railways  espe- 
cially arranged  for  heavy  tonnage  and  moderately  slow 
speeds  would  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  economic  dis- 
tribution of  factory  products. 

A  location  conveniently  situated  for  the  receipt  of 
raw  material  by  way  of  the  cheaper  waterways,  and  at 
the  meeting  of  railways,  makes  an  extremely  favorable 
location.  Examples  of  manufacturing  centers  so  located 
are  Pittsburg,  Buffalo,  Cincinnati,  Cleveland,  Milwaukee, 
Chicago  and  St.  Louis. 

In  the  case  of  light  machinery,  or  of  any  output  in 
which  the  labor  is  considerably  greater  than  that  of  ma- 
terials, nearness  to  raw  materials  is  of  minor  impor- 
tance. The  larger  cities  are  always  the  best  places  to 
secure  skilled  labor,  and  they  offer  also  prompt  shipping 
facilities  for  manufactured  products,  and  a  sales  market 
close  at  hand.  Industries  of  this  sort  are  naturally  most 
numerous  in  the  larger  cities  of  the  country,  such  as 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  Chicago,  and  so  on. 

Numerous  smaller  cities  will  answer  many  of  the  re- 
quirements for  the  most  economic  factory  location. 
While  the  history  of  the  past  seems  to  point  towards  the 
large  city  as  the  most  favored  factory  site,  there  are 
many  examples  of  success  in  smaller  places.  The  labor 
agitator  finds  the  small  town  a  poor  field.  Pleasant  sur- 
roundings and  sunshine  tend  toward  contentment — the 
worst  enemy  of  the  walking  delegate. 

With  reference  to  nearness  to  the  selling  market,  it  is 
evident  that  the  factory  should  be  at  the  point  from 
which  it  can  ship  with  equal  promptness  and  cheapness 


FACTORY    LOCATION 71 

to  each  of  its  principal  sales  centers.  The  location  of 
many  factories  in  surroundings  not  at  all  favorable  to 
cheapness  of  production  has  been  due  to  the  fact  that 
their  founders,  realizing  the  local  demand,  started  the 
establishment  in  the  best  sales  market. 

The  oldest  manufacturing  establishments  of  the  coun- 
try have  been  located  chiefly  in  distributing  centers, 
where  commodities  are  easily  exchanged.  In  addition  to 
the  advantage  from  a  selling  standpoint  such  centers 
present  the  advantage  of  abundant  labor.  The  con- 
.vergence  of  railroads  in  larger  centers  of  this  sort  also 
offers  facilities  for  promptly  securing  raw  materials. 

Advantages  of  direct  contact  with  the  consumer  offered 
by  a  factory  located  in  the  large  city  are  worth  careful 
consideration.  Frequently,  after  the  removal  of  a  fac- 
tory which  has  found  its  city  site  disadvantageous  as 
compared  with  a  location  in  the  suburbs  or  the  country, 
some  new-comer  has  been  able  to  start  a  thriving  estab- 
lishment near  the  old  site,  with  perhaps  less  profits,  but 
still  reaping  advantage  from  his  nearness  to  markets. 

The  cities  that  form  the  best  sales  markets  are  those 
where  trade  routes  meet.  Similarly,  good  sales  markets 
are  afforded  by  cities  at  the  convergence  of  navigable 
rivers,  such  as  Pittsburg  and  St.  Louis,  or  at  points 
where  the  limits  in  navigation  necessitate  transshipment, 
such  as  Chicago,  Cleveland  and  Cincinnati. 

Another  class  of  cities  forming  good  markets  is  found 
at  collecting  and  distributing  points  in  exceedingly  pro- 
ductive regions,  such  as  Indianapolis  and  Kansas  City. 

In  cases  where  the  factory  need  not  consider  itself 
merely  an  adjunct  to  the  sales  department,  consider- 
ation as  to  cheapest  site,  cheapest  transportation  of  raw 
material  and  finished  product,  and  good  labor  markets 
should  determine  the  location. 


72 BUILDINGS    AND     EQUIPMENT 

The  question  of  money  layout  is  frequently  one  on 
which  too  much  stress  is  laid.  It  frequently  happens 
that  enterprising  citizens  in  a  small  town  are  willing  to 
furnish  a  free  site.  They  may  even  go  so  far  as  to 
raise  the  cash  bonus  usually  obtained  by  the  sale  of 
building  lots  in  the  vicinity  of  the  proposed  factory 
site.  Such  inducements  may  often  be  based  upon  sound 
logic  and  may  result  in  good  to  all  concerned.  There 
have  been  cases,  however,  where  with  even  such  advan- 
tages the  factory  has  failed  and  the  enterprising  citizens 
have  lost  money  invested  in  town  lots  because  insuffi- 
cient consideration  had  been  given  to  more  important 
factors. 

FACTORS  to  be  considered  in  choosing  the  right  loca- 
tion in  town  or  country — first  price  of  land  does  not 
always  insure  getting  the  cheapest  site. 

Many  sources  of  information  are  open  to  the  man  who 
is  seeking  the  right  factory  site.  Railways  frequently 
have  an  industrial  agent  whose  sole  duty  it  is  to  investi- 
gate advantageous  locations;  and  where  the  absolute  re- 
liability of  such  information  is  assured,  it  is  a  big  help. 

Having  found  the  right  town  or  city,  the  manufac- 
turer must  next  consider  picking  out  the  one  best  fac- 
tory site  in  that  town. 

At  first  thought  it  would  seem  essential  for  a  factory 
using  heavy  raw  material  which  has  to  be  shipped  from 
some  distance,  to  be  located  on  a  railroad  track ;  yet  the 
majority  of  these  factories  are,  in  actual  practice,  lo- 
cated away  from  railroad  tracks.  The  small  establish- 
ment thrives  best  near  the  great  buying  centers.  These 
are  usually  away  from  the  railroad,  and  nearer  a  good 
supply  of  labor. 

There  is  also  often  an  advantage  in  being  located  in 


FACTORY    LOCATION 73 

a  center  where  certain  classes  of  manufacturing  already 
prevail.  For  instance,  a  clothing  shop  would  probably 
be  out  of  place  in  a  center  devoted  to  the  manufacture 
of  machine  tools. 

In  changing  locations  in  a  given  city,  get  positive 
information  concerning  the  cost  of  trucking  to  your 
various  city  customers,  learn  whether  there  will  be  extra 
drayage  charges  from  your  local  suppliers  to  the  new 
site,  and  find  out  the  exact  drayage  or  switching  charges 
to  the  various  railroads  from  the  new  site  as  compared 
with  your  present  location. 

The  factory  site  on  a  waterway  without  railroad  fa- 
cilities is  of  little  advantage  nowadays.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  location  accessible  to  both  water  and  railroad  is 
particularly  desirable.  The  wonderful  manufacturing 
development  in  such  cities  as  Detroit,  Cleveland  and 
Buffalo  is  evidence  of  this.  Such  a  location  is  especially 
desirable  for  industries  using  bulky  raw  materials  such 
as  timber  and  iron  ore.  The  waterway  serves  these  raw 
materials  with  low  transportation  charges  and  a  railway 
is  convenient  for  shipping  out  finished  products. 

In  choosing  between  two  railroads,  the  class  of  raw 
material  carried  by  one  may  favor  a  site  along  its 
tracks,  even  though  outward  shipping  facilities  on  it 
are  not  so  good  as  those  of  the  other.  For  instance,  a 
company  making  sewer  pipe  or  fire  brick  would  prob- 
ably prefer  a  location  on  a  road  passing  through  the 
fields  from  which  it  draws  its  raw  material  even  though 
that  road  might  not  be  able  to  handle  outgoing  ship- 
ments as  well  as  another. 

Nearness  to  a  general  labor  market  also  may  lose  its 
attraction  if  another  site  is  near  a  specialized  labor 
market.  For  instance,  there  is  a  constantly  increasing 
trend  of  machine  tool  builders  toward  the  Mill  Creek 


74 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

Valley  settlement  of  machine  tool  shops  in  Cincinnati. 
Even  in  the  specialized  centers,  however,  another  factor 
needs  to  be  considered;  namely,  nearness  to  the  work- 
ing man's  home.  Other  things  being  equal,  the  work- 
ing men  prefer  to  work  in  a  shop  to  which  they  can 
walk  or  to  which  the  street  car  trip  is  shortest ;  hence  it 
is  often  important  to  find  out  where  the  majority  of 
your  class  of  workers  live. 

Nearness  to  the  sales  center  of  a  city  may  be  important 
if  this  encourages  personal  visits  from  buyers.  Many 
jewelry  and  other  small  manufacturing  businesses  in 
large  cities  have  especially  to  consider  this  point. 

In  buying  land  on  the  outskirts  of  a  city,  adequate 
supplies  of  water,  light  and  power,  and  easy  street  rail- 
way transportation  are  all  essential  factors. 

The  busy  manufacturing  plant  located  where  many 
people  can  see  it  has  a  decided  advertising  value.  A 
number  of  successful  automobile  concerns  have  for  this 
very  reason  located  on  roads  which  are  favorite  drive- 
ways. 

All  these  factors  must  be  considered  with  great  care 
by  the  man  who  is  selecting  or  changing  his  location. 
Failure  to  consider  a  single  one  of  them  may  mean  the 
margin  between  low  or  high  cost  of  production,  between 
ultimate  success  or  failure. 


FREQUENTLY  it  pays,  as  a  matter  of  cold,  hard  figures, 
•*•  to  scrap  an  old  plant  entire,  and  build  and  equip  a  new 
one,  merely  to  take  advantage  of  the  improvements  in  equip- 
ment and  to  gain  the  most  efficient  routing  of  production. 

— D.  R.  Swinton 

Of  The  Nordberj  Manufacturing  Company 


VIII 

PLANNING  AHEAD  IN  SHOP 
CONSTRUCTION 

By  Henry  T.  Noyes,  Jr. 
Secretary,  The  German-American  Button  Company 

MANY  factors  enter  into  the  planning  of  a  new 
manufacturing  plant.  Location,  arrangement  and 
construction  have,  however,  principal  consideration,  and 
each  will  have  a  definite  relation  to  the  whole  plant 
as  an  efficient  unit  of  production.  Each  of  these  prin- 
cipal considerations  has,  of  course,  its  modifying  as- 
pects. For  example,  in  addition  to  the  cost  of  the  land 
it  is  necessary  to  consider  its  accessibility  for  employees, 
space  for  expansion,  transportation  facilities,  nature  of 
the  soil,  and  the  amount  of  grading  necessary. 

Before  we  planned  our  new  factory  buildings  we 
visited  a  great  many  plants  in  this  country,  studied  type 
construction  and  the  conditions  affecting  manufacture  in 
each  case.  While  there  are  industries  that  require  plants 
suited  to  their  particular  business,  in  other  industries  a 
general  type  of  building  is  satisfactory  for  all.  In  this 
second  class  come  most  light  manufacturing  concerns 
and,  having  reached  this  conclusion,  we  can  say  that  our 
buildings  were  really  designed  in  the  main  not  for  the 
button  business,  but  for  general  light  manufacturing. 
We  do  indeed  require  in  one  building  or  part  of  a  build- 
ing some  special  construction  for  our  business,  but  the 
remaining  space  in  the  plant  would  be  equally  suitable 
for  any  other  light  manufacturing  business.  The  United 


76 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

Shoe  Machinery  Company,  for  illustration,  has  one  or 
two  special  buildings,  but  in  our  opinion  both  they  and 
we  could  in  general,  interchange  buildings  without 
operating  disadvantageous^.  Shoe  factories,  clothing 
factories  and  similar  classes  of  industries  could  utilize 
our  buildings  as  efficiently  as  we  can.  In  most  light 
manufacturing,  good  air  and  light  are  very  desirable. 
So  we  felt  from  the  start  that  a  location  was  demanded 
where  light  and  air  were  not  restricted  by  surrounding 
buildings. 

A  CCESSIBILITY  to  employees  is  an  important  point 
•**.  to  consider  in  locating  your  factory — also  the  pos- 
sibility of  readily  selling  in  case  of  need. 

One  of  the  most  important  things  to  consider  in  lo- 
cating a  plant  is  its  accessibility  to  employees.  Our  lo- 
cation is  very  central.  We  are  actually  less  than  two- 
thirds  of  a  mile  from  the  center  of  population  of 
Rochester  and  we  adjoin  the  public  market  and  the 
state  arsenal  property.  If  growth  of  the  city  continues 
for  twenty-five  years  in  the  direction  that  it  has  in  the 
past,  our  property  will  be  the  center  of  population.  We 
are  near  five  street  car  lines. 

In  considering  the  accessibility  of  a  factory  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  location  of  employees'  homes,  the  class 
of  labor  employed  must  be  taken  into  consideration.  A 
distinction  can  be  made  between  factories  which  employ 
skilled  labor  and  those  in  which  young  men  and  women 
make  up  the  largest  percentage  of  the  payroll.  In  the 
first  instance  the  factory  can  safely  be  located  on  the 
outskirts  of  a  city,  but  in  the  second  case  to  do  so  might 
involve  great  loss.  We  found  instances  in  which  dif- 
ferent plants  in  the  same  city  were  paying  for  girls  a 
difference  in  wages  of  $1.00  per  week  due  solely  to  ac- 


SHOP    CONSTRUCTION 77 

cessibility.  When  employees  have  to  pay  sixty  cents  a 
week  for  street  car  fare  and  have  to  take  or  buy  their 
lunches,  they  expect  to  get  paid  for  it. 

Valuable  people  do  not  like  to  waste  thirty  or  forty 
minutes  going  to  work  and  the  same  time  going  home. 
They  give  preference  to  a  business  which  can  be  reached 
within  five  or  seven  minutes  *  walking.  An  accessible 
location,  therefore,  gives  you  help  at  a  lower  wage  and 
gives  you  the  pick  of  the  best  help.  We  have  at  present 
over  eight  hundred  people  in  our  employ.  Figure  that 
five  hundred  of  them  are  affected  by  the  above  argu- 
ment. 

The  advantage  of  our  location  as  against  one  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  city  may  be  presented  at  $1.00  per  per- 
son per  week,  say,  $50  a  year  for  five  hundred  people,  or 
a  matter  of  $25,000  per  annum.  From  this  standpoint 
we  felt  justified  in  paying  a  high  price  for  our  location, 
and  we  believe  that  many  factories  make  a  mistake  in 
going  into  the  suburbs  where  land  is  cheap,  without  tak- 
ing into  consideration  the  labor  problems.  Of  course 
land  at  the  outskirts  of  the  city  will  increase  propor- 
tionately more  in  value  than  ours,  but  ours  will  never  be 
worth  less  and  will  increase  gradually. 

As  we  have  located  our  factory,  therefore,  we  are  at 
the  apex  of  a  wedge  of  fine  residences  that  penetrates 
into  the  laboring  section  so  that  we  draw  labor  from 
three  of  the  four  points  of  the  compass.  We  estimate 
that  there  are  40,000  people  within  walking  distance  of 
our  plant,  and  nearer  to  our  plant  than  any  other  fac- 
tory employing  the  same  class  of  help. 

Another  point  that  we  felt  worthy  of  consideration 
and  which  had  influence  was  the  future  value  of  the 
"salability"  of  the  plant.  In  this  connection  three  points 
are  of  moment: 


78 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

First,  a  plant  to  be  readily  salable  must  be  located 
on  a  railroad  track.  Even  if  a  concern  has  little  use 
for  railroad  facilities,  it  will  not  pay  as  much  for  a  plant 
remote  from  a  track  as  for  one  so  located.  We  are  lo- 
cated on  the  main  line  of  the  New  York  Central  Rail- 
road and  have  a  side  track  of  our  own. 

Second,  the  layout  and  arrangement  should  be  suit- 
able for  any  light  manufacturing  business.  A  general 
plan  should  be  in  mind  rather  than  one  emphasizing  some 
particular  need. 

Third,  this  last  argument  should  have  influence  in 
the  design  and  the  construction  of  the  building.  For 
illustration  in  making  calculations  for  floor  loads  this 
salability  viewpoint  is  entitled  to  consideration,  espe- 
cially in  reinforced  concrete  construction  where  the  extra 
cost  for  heavy  loads  is  very  slight. 

This  very  point  brings  up  another  argument  in  favor 
of  general  design.  In  almost  any  light  manufacturing 
the  processes  are  changing  from  time  to  time.  Some- 
times very  heavy  machinery  is  introduced.  In  the  next 
case,  light  machinery  may  replace  the  heavier  machines. 
In  other  words,  even  in  running  a  given  business  there 
is  change  in  methods.  And  thus  in  designing  a  plant  it 
is  well  to  keep  in  mind  the  possibilities  of  changing  the 
uses  of  the  building  from  those  for  which  they  were  first 
designed. 

No  point  was  brought  more  forcibly  to  our  attention 
in  visiting  factories  than  the  advisability  of  providing 
amply  for  expansion.  We  took  this  question  carefully 
into  consideration  in  designing  our  plant.  In  many  of 
the  factories  we  visited,  the  symmetry  of  the  design  of 
the  plant  was  spoiled  because  this  factor  had  not  been 
carefully  considered.  From  our  observation  there  is  no 
more  common  mistake  than  failing  to  allow  for  ex- 


SHOP    CONSTRUCTION 79 

pansion.  The  concerns  which  we  visited  before  we  de- 
signed our  own  plant  were  as  a  rule  all  successful  ones, 
and  because  they  had  the  elements  of  success  they 
had  in  nearly  all  cases  grown  beyond  their  own  expec- 
tations. 

The  question  of  expansion  was,  of  course,  considered 
also  in  connection  with  the  grouping  of  the  buildings. 
This  of  itself  is  a  very  important  part  of  factory  design. 
Unless  the  buildings  are  grouped  logically  with  refer- 
ence to  each  other  and  to  the  administrative  depart- 
ments, considerable  lost  motion  is  bound  to  occur.  This 
means  waste,  for  if  work  has  to  retrace  its  route  of  travel 
in  process  of  construction,  more  truckmen  and  more  floor 
space  are  required  to  handle  it  expeditiously  than  is  the 
case  when  the  route  from  raw  materials  to  inspection 
and  shipment  follows  a  straight  line  without  re-entrant 
angles. 

DESIGN  of  the  building  and  details  of  factory  con- 
struction which  make  expansion,  sale  or  change  in 
methods  of  manufacture  possible  and  easy. 

Types  of  buildings  possible  in  selecting  an  arrange- 
ment to  meet  given  conditions  are  represented  by  the 
shapes  of  the  capital  letters  L,  T,  U,  C,  H,  F  and  E.  In 
all  these  types  of  buildings,  materials  and  parts  in 
process  of  construction  may  travel  in  two  or  more  direc- 
tions without  re-entrant  lines  on  their  way  toward  final 
assembling.  Moreover,  different  lines  of  goods  can  be 
made  in  the  various  wings  without  interference  and 
brought  to  a  common  point  for  storage  and  shipment. 

In  our  case,  the  making  of  buttons,  or  in  any  light 
manufacturing  business,  the  choice  of  a  building  had  to 
do  more  with  good  light  and  efficient  administration 
than  with  the  processing.  Parts  are  small  and  are 


80 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

handled  in  large  quantities  and  the  shape  of  the  build- 
ing is  not  so  important  in  its  relation  to  the  handling 
of  the  material. 

For  any  business  the  ideal  condition  would  be  a 
square  with  all  departments  nearly  equi-distant  from  the 
central  point  of  administration.  Several  of  the  styles 
of  buildings  typified  by  the  letters  permit  this  centraliza- 
tion of  the  administration  forces.  Furthermore,  in  our 
judgment,  all  buildings  for  light  manufacturing  should 
run  east  and  west  so  as  to  give  one  long  side  to  north 
light.  Aa  administration  building  can  run  north  and 
south,  but  manufacturing  buildings  should  always  run 
east  and  west. 

It  may  be  interesting  at  this  point  to  state  that  we 
laid  out  our  plant  on  paper  before  we  thought  of  look- 
ing for  a  site.  We  had  this  draftsman's  ideal  in  mind 
before  we  purchased  land  for  our  present  location. 
"While  it  is  necessary  sometimes  to  build  a  plant  to 
meet  the  conditions  of  the  location,  in  our  case  we  bought 
the  ground  to  fit  the  design. 

In  connection  with  the  floor  plan  of  a  building,  its 
length,  breadth  and  height,  several  things  are  to  be 
noted.  A  building  three  bays  wide  (two  rows  of  col- 
umns) has,  usually,  a  more  convenient  interior  than  one 
with  two  bays  or  four  bays  with  a  row  of  columns  down 
the  center.  Again,  sixteen  to  twenty  feet  is  the  most 
economical  column  spacing  and  therefore,  under  our 
conditions,  a  building  fifty-two  feet  wide  (three  bays  of 
about  seventeen  feet  each)  seemed  the  most  satisfactory. 
So  much  of  our  work  must  be  done  near  the  windows 
that  a  wider  building  would  have  been  wasteful  of  floor 
space. 

For  any  given  width  of  building  the  minimum  cost 
per  square  foot  of  floor  space  is  usually  obtained  in  a 


SHOP    CONSTRUCTION 81 

structure  four  or  five  stories  high.  The  minimum  cost 
decreases  rapidly  as  the  building  lengthens  up  to  300 
feet.  Our  buildings  were,  therefore,  constructed  four 
stories  high  and  approximately  300  feet  long. 

We  decided  upon  four  stories  as  the  height  of  the 
structures  also  for  another  reason.  With  four  stories 
no  passenger  elevator  service  is  necessary.  By  locating 
our  offices  on  the  second  floor  and  the  storeroom  and  re- 
pair departments  on  the  third  floor,  employees  have 
little  occasion  to  climb  more  than  one  or  two  flights  of 
stairs  during  business  hours. 

In  a  building  fifty  feet  wide  it  is  possible  to  get  a 
satisfactory  diffusion  of  light  with  a  ceiling  height  of 
from  thirteen  to  fourteen  feet.  A  slight  increase  in 
height,  however,  adds  very  little  to  the  cost  per  square 
foot.  And  the  added  height  has  certain  advantages.  By 
making  our  ceilings  fifteen  feet  high,  we  have  a  better 
light  and  can  place  in  any  story  a  mezzanine  floor  which 
will  have  ample  head  room  both  above  and  below  it. 

Our  building  was  designed  for  sufficient  floor  load  to 
permit  such  a  mezzanine  at  any  and  all  points  and  a 
grip  and  nut  head  were  set  in  concrete  for  suspension 
for  such  a  mezzanine  at  all  points.  There  are  several 
places  in  our  factory  where  such  a  floor  can  be  used. 
Among  other  advantages,  it  provides  for  expansion  with- 
out rearranging  the  machinery  on  that  floor.  It  can  also 
be  advantageously  used  for  storage. 

Another  general  feature  of  construction  which  works 
out  well  in  our  plant  is  the  elimination  of  a  basement 
in  the  buildings.  All  the  first  floors  in  our  factory  are 
about  one  foot  above  the  ground  level.  This  cost  was 
little  if  any  more  per  square  foot  than  for  a  building  in 
which  the  basement  floor  was  three  or  four  feet  below 
the  ground  level.  Our  ground  level  building,  moreover, 


82 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

saves  lowering  and  raising  raw  stock  and  product. 

Steel,  concrete  and  glass  are  the  principal  materials 
of  construction.  Reinforced  concrete  is  used  for  side 
walls  and  floors.  The  partition  walls  in  several  in- 
stances are  of  terra-cotta  tile.  A  large  percentage  of  the 
wall  surface  of  the  building  is  glass.  Since  the  main 
building  runs  east  and  west,  the  natural  lighting  would 
be  hard  to  improve. 

While  no  attempt  at  special  ornamentation  was  at- 
tempted in  the  buildings,  the  proportioning  of  the  build- 
ings and  the  simple  cornices  present  a  pleasing  appear- 
ance. The  surface  of  the  concrete  is  bush-hammered 
except  for  a  smooth  border  line  at  the  corners  and  win- 
dow frames.  The  treatment  breaks  up  the  monotony  of 
a  flat  concrete  surface  and  serves,  with  the  windows,  to 
make  the  buildings  not  out  of  harmony  with  the  resi- 
dential district  in  which  they  are  located.  The  effect  is 
further  enhanced  by  an  attractive  setting  of  trees  and 
shrubs. 


C^VERY  factory  manager  must  look  at  his  plant  from  the 
•^  standpoint  of  use— not  space.  He  must  consider  how 
much  time  it  will  take  to  turn  his  product  out  in  that  amount  of 
space,  he  should  plan  to  make  the  most  use  of  his  building  and 
equipment.  Then  and  then  only  will  he  get  the  greatest  re- 
turns from  his  required  investment  and  the  lowest  cost  per 
unit  output. 

—P.  L.  Battey 

Chid  Engineer,  Industrial  Department,  The  Arnold  Company 


IX 

MAPPING  FACTORY 
DEPARTMENTS 

By  Nicholas  T.  Picker 
Efficiency  Engineer 

IN  DRAWING  up  a  chart  for  a  manufacturing  or- 
ganization, give  careful  consideration  to  the  method 
of  grouping  the  various  units.  Study  the  scope  of  the 
various  departments  and  group  them  to  get  the  best 
results. 

First  you  must  decide  on  a  standard  method  of  desig- 
nating the  various  units.  The  factory,  for  example, 
may .  first  be  divided  into  its  various  branches.  The 
branches  are  then  subdivided  into  divisions,  the  divisions 
into  departments,  the  departments  into  sections,  and  the 
sections  into  groups  or  gangs,  each  having  its  own  par- 
ticular organization.  In  the  manufacturing  depart* 
ments,  the  subdivisions  of  a  section  are  called  gangs ;  in 
the  clerical  departments,  groups.  These  various  sub- 
divisions may  then  be  assembled  in  a  chart  which  will 
show  their  various  relations. 

In  the  metal  industries,  a  standard  method  of  pro- 
cedure is  to  divide  the  plant  into  five  branches :  mechan- 
ical, manufacturing,  inspection,  service  and  maintenance, 
and  production  and  clerical  branches,  respectively. 

The  mechanical  branch  is  comprised  of  the  purely- 
mechanical  departments,  such  as  tool  design,  tool  mak- 
ing, pattern  making,  and  so  on,  and  is  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  master  mechanic. 


84 


BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 


This  manufacturing  branch,  includes  all  those  depart- 
ments which  are  actually  engaged  in  producing  the  out- 
put. It  is  subdivided  into  the  foundry,  machine,  as- 
sembly, finishing  and  special  divisions,  respectively. 
Each  division  is  put  in  charge  of  a  division  head  to 
whom  the  foremen  of  the  various  departments  report. 


SHOP 
SUPERINTENDENT 


CLERICAL  AND  PRODUCTION 
BRANCH 

PRODUCTION  ENGINEER 


CLERICAL  DIVISION 


PRODUCTION  DIVISION 


SERVICE  AND  MAINTENANCE  BRANCH 
FACTORV  ENGINEER 


INSPECTION  BRANCH 
CHIEF  INSPECTOR 


MANUFACTURING  BRANCH 
GENERAL  FOREMAN 


MECHANICAL  BRANCH 
MASTER  MECHANIC 


SPECIAL  WORK  DIVISION 
FINISHING  DIVISION 
ASSEMBLY  DIVISION 
MACHINE  DIVISION 
FOUNDRY  DIVISION 


FIGURE  VI:     This  chart  indicates  the  lines  along  which  to  chart  a  com- 
plex organization.     In  actual  practice  it  is  best  to  carry  the  analysis  out  in 
much  greater  detail 

The  general  foreman  is  in  charge  of  this  branch  of  the 
company,  and  is  held  responsible  for  the  output  of  his 
various  departments.  The  inspection  branch  consists 
of  the  raw  material,  process,  final  and  tool  inspection 
departments,  respectively,  and  the  chemical  and  physi- 
cal laboratories,  all  of  which  are  engaged  in  passing 
upon  and  maintaining  the  standards  set  for  the  guid- 
ance of  the  manufacturing  branch. T  The  chief  inspector 
is  in  charge  of  the  inspection  branch  and  has  direct 


MAPPING    DEPARTMENTS 85 

supervision  over  all  the  departments. 

.The  service  and  maintenance  branch  is  under  the  su- 
pervision of  the  factory  engineer,  and  is  comprised  of 
the  factory  service  department,  house  carpenter  depart- 
ment, millwright  department,  steam  and  electric  gen- 
erating plant,  and  house  wiring  department ;  all  of  these 
are  engaged  in  providing  suitable  accommodation  for 
the  enactment  of  work  throughout  the  plant. 

The  production  and  clerical  branch  of  the  company 
may  be  comprised  of  two  distinct  divisions:  first,  the 
production  division  which  takes  in  the  shop  stores,  stock 
records,  shop  tracing  and  receiving  departments,  all  of 
which  are  engaged  in  exercising  their  respective  func- 
tions in  connection  with  the  subject  of  material;  and 
second,  the  clerical  and  accounting  division,  which  in- 
cludes such  departments  as  the  shop  cost,  shop  expense, 
payroll,  employment,  piece-work  rates,  voucher,  shop 
purchasing  and  efficiency  departments,  practically  all 
of  which  are  engaged  in  keeping  and  furnishing  sta- 
tistics for  controlling  the  various  units  throughout  the 
plant,  installing  methods  conducive  to  accurate  costs, 
compiling  piece-work  rates,  and  controlling  waste 
wherever  possible.  This  branch,  with  its  two  divisions, 
is  often  best  placed  in  charge  of  a  production  engineer, 
who  should  embody  all  the  qualities  of  a  mechanical 
engineer,  office  manager  and  expert  accountant. 

STUDY    of  the  departments  in  any  factory  will  show 
which  are  closely  related  to  one  another — for  effective 
work  these  should   be  placed  close  together. 

Take  a  machine  shop,  for  example,  as  work  on  orders 
in  most  large  manufactories  of  >this  class  starts  in  the 
foundry.  The  grouping  of  the  various  parts  of  a  brass 
foundry  is  typical.  A  study  of  conditions  will  show 


86 


BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 


that  there  are  four  distinct  parts  to  the  foundry  di- 
vision— the  core-room  section,  melting  section,  molding 
section,  and  cleaning,  filing  and  sorting  section. 


SHARE- 
HOLDERS 


DIRECTORS 


MANAGING 
DIRECTOR 


MANUFACTURING  OEPT. 
GEN'L  SUPT. 


DRY  COLOR  DEPT. 
SUPERINTENDENT 


PAINT  OEPT. 

SUPERINTENDENT 


PRACTICAL  TESTING 


CHEMICAL  LABORATORY 
CHIEF  CHEMIST 


PURCHASING  OEPT. 
PURCHASING  AGEN1 


RECEIVING  AND  STORES 
GEN. STOCKKEEPER 


TINS  AND  IRON 
PACKING  FOREMAN 


ACCOUNTING  OCPT. 
CHIEF  ACCOUNTANT 


SflLES  AND  ADVERTIS- 
ING COMMITTEE 


MECHANICAL  ENGINEER 


FINISHING  OEPT 
OVERSEER 


HOMC  SALES  MANAGER 

CARTAGE  AND  SHIPPING 
OEPT.  MANAGER 

CROWN  WHARF  FOREMAN 
EXPORT  SALES  MANAGER 
CITY  OFFICE 
ADVERTISING  MANAGER 

PRINTING  AND  SAMPLING 
DEPT 

PROMOTING  MANAGER 


FIGURE  VII:     A  British  paint  and  varnish  factory  uses  this  method 
of  mapping  its  organization.     The  dual  authority  of  a  board  of  directors 
and  a  managing  director  is  unusual 

Each  of  these  sections  is  generally  in  charge  of  a  sec- 
tion boss,  to  whom  report  the  gang  bosses,  as  happens 
in  the  case  of  the  melting  section,  where  are  found  the 


MAPPING    DEPARTMENTS 


87 


melting  gang  and  also  the  pouring  gang. 

This  further  subdivision  is,  of  course,  necessary  only 
where  the  size   of  the   foundry  warrants  it.     As  the 


'  MACHINE  SHOP 

DRAUGHTING 

'  MASTER  MECHANIC     < 

BELT  SHOP 

CARPENTER  SHOP 

ELECTRICAL 

YARD 

SUPPLY 

*  COTTON 

SUPT.  YARN  MILLS       ' 

SPINNING 
SPOOLING* 
CARDING 

WARPING 

AGENT     1   GENL.  SUPT. 

TON.  CLERK  I          »TEN.   CLCRH 

OYCING 

'  FILLING  STOCK 
SPLITTING 
BEAMING 

SUPT.  CLOTH  MILLS    , 

SLASHING 
QUILLING 

WEAVING 

DRAWING-(N 

INSPECTING 

"COLOR  MIXING 

PRINTING 

FINISHING 

SUPT.  PRINT  WORKS  < 

OEStGNING 
OlE  SINKING 

ASSORTING 

PACKING 

SHIPPING 

FIGURE  VIII:     A  textile  mill  is  essentially  a  group  of  independent  little 

factories  within  a  larger  one,  as  this  chart  shows.     It  indicates  the  authority 

of  department  heads  and  their  relation  to  the  agent 

charts  show,  the  subdivision  of  departments  depends  on 
the  class  of  business.  In  the  paint  factory  conditions 
are  different  from  what  they  are  in  a  machine  shop. 
Yet  the  methods  of  subdividing  are  not  dissimilar.  It 


88 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

will  be  seen  that  each  unit  of  the  organization  is  so  sub- 
divided, and  the  duties  and  scopes  of  each  part  are  so 
plainly  mapped  out,  that  friction  between  the  various 
units  is  practically  eliminated  owing  to  a  clearly  de- 
fined distinction  between  their  work. 

The  machine  division  is  usually  the  main  part  of  the 
shop  and  comprises  all  departments  which  cannot  be  con- 
sidered as  either  assembly,  finishing  departments  or  spe- 
cial departments.  Among  the  standard  departments 
under  the  machine  division  will  usually  be  found  the 
milling,  drilling,  tapping,  screw  machine,  punch  press 
and  lathe  departments,  respectively,  and  such  other  ma- 
chine departments  as  are  peculiar  to  the  manufactory 
in  question. 

In  the  machine  departments,  the  method  of  subdivid- 
ing each  unit  is  carried  on  in  much  the  same  manner  as 
in  the  brass  foundry;  each  department  is  first  divided 
into  sections  and  then  into  gangs.  The  direct  benefit 
of  such  a  plan  of  departmental  organization  becomes 
evident  where  gang  piece-work  is  in  force,  and  statistics 
relative  to  the  efficiency  of  each  gang  are  required.  Too 
much  emphasis  cannot  be  laid  on  the  fact  that  to  what- 
ever extent  a  departmental  organization  may  be  carried, 
it  is  essential  to  define  the  functions  of  each  unit  and 
specify  the  authority  of  the  individual  in  charge. 

When  it  is  necessary  to  keep  departments  of  a  spe- 
cial nature  separate  from  any  of  the  divisions  specified, 
they  should  be  shown  as  such  on  the  organization  chart, 
and  their  department  organization  just  as  carefully 
worked  out  as  though  they  were  of  a  more  standard 
nature. 

Of  even  more  interest  than  the  inter-relation  of  the 
various  departments  under  the  manufacturing  branch, 
is  the  grouping  of  those  departments  engaged  in  in- 


MAPPING     DEPARTMENTS 


89 


specting  and  passing  upon  the  product.  The  inspection 
branch  should  be  in  charge  of  a  chief  inspector,  who 
will  report  direct  to  the  shop  superintendent  as  to  his 
findings. 


ANNUAL  RINGS  IN  A  GROWING  FACTORY 


FIGURE  IX:     This  chart  is  used  not  only  to  represent  actual  departments 
in  the  factory,  but  also  to  show  their  logical  growth,  making  new  charts  at  a 
later  time  unnecessary 

In  making  a  distinct  branch  of  the  inspection  de- 
partments, instead  of  including  them  with  the  manufac- 
turing branch,  the  policy  of  eliminating  as  much  as  pos- 


90 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

sible  the  checking  and  inspecting  of  a  department's 
work  by  itself  has  been  followed.  Past  experience  has 
shown  that  where  the  inspection  work  is  part  of  a  de- 
partment's routine  the  results  are  generally  unsatisfac- 
tory. This  is  usually  due  to  a  tendency  to  cover  up  de- 
fective workmanship  and  errors,  or  a  gradually  increas- 
ing laxity  in  inspection,  until  it  is  such  in  name  only. 

The  policy  of  grouping  all  inspection  departments 
under  one  head  and  taking  these  departments  from 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  manufacturing  branch 
seems,  therefore,  to  be  warranted.  As  to  whether  or 
not  the  inspection  branch  should  still  come  in  the  prov- 
ince of  the  general  foreman,  as  head  of  the  manufac- 
turing branch,  has  been  a  subject  of  much  contention; 
the  consensus  of  opinion,  however,  usually  favors  the 
keeping  of  all  inspection  work  directly  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  shop  superintendent  acting  through  the 
chief  inspector. 

The  inspection  branch  in  a  large  plant  may  be  sub- 
divided into :  raw  material  inspection,  process  or  worked 
material  inspection,  final  inspection,  laboratory,  and 
tool  inspection,  each  named  in  accordance  with  the  de- 
gree of  progress  of  the  work,  except  in  the  case  of  labo- 
ratory and  tool  inspection.  As  each  of  these  various 
divisions  may  be  composed  of  a  number  of  departments 
located  throughout  the  floors  and  buildings  of  the  plant, 
it  is  often  worth  while  to  name  them  in  alphabetical 
terms. 

The  heads  of  the  various  inspection  departments 
should  bear  the  same  relation  to  their  respective  depart- 
ments as  the  foremen  bear  to  their  departments,  and 
all  shop  instructions  which  are  issued  to  foremen  should 
also  be  issued  to  the  heads  of  the  various  inspection 
departments. 


MAPPING     DEPARTMENTS 


91 


The  inspection  department  has  no  direct  supervision 
over  workmen,  but  should  an  inspector  discover  work 
which  is  being  done  incorrectly,  it  is  his  duty  to  notify 


OPERATING  ORGANIZATION  CHART 


FIGURE  X:     This  power-house  chart  is  unique  because  of  the  clever  way 

in  which  subordinate  authority  is  represented.     It  gives  every  man  a  definite 

idea  of  his  exact  place  in  the  organization. 

the  foreman  in  charge  of  the  work  immediately.  In 
such  an  event,  the  foreman  notified  must  stop  the  work 
until  the  error  has  been  corrected.  In  cases  where  a 


92 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

foreman  neglects  to  take  the  necessary  steps  to  prevent 
loss  to  the  company  after  being  notified  by  the  inspector, 
or  if  the  matter  be  of  a  serious  nature,  the  case  should 
be  reported  to  the  head  of  the  inspection  branch. 

PARTS  of  the  factory  which  naturally  belong  together — 
how  to  chart  the  organization  so  as  to  show  the  exact 
relation  of  each  department  to  every  other. 

"Whenever  it  is  necessary  for  any  reason  to  deviate  in 
any  way  from  the  specifications  or  blueprints  in  the 
manufacture  of  any  piece  of  shop  merchandise,  always 
obtain  the  approval  of  the  chief  inspector  before  pro- 
ceeding with  the  work.  Shop  foremen  must  cooperate 
with  the  inspectors  to  see  that  this  rule,  when  made,  is 
strictly  adhered  to,  as  it  is  essential  that  blueprints  be 
followed  in  detail.  If  it  is  known  that  errors  on  them 
exist,  have  the  matter  reported  at  once  to  the  chief  in- 
spector, so  that  the  particular  case  in  question  may  be 
investigated  before  the  blueprints  are  corrected  by  the 
drafting  department.  t 

The  service  and  maintenance  branch  of  the  factory 
is  another  department  in  which  there  is  a  common  in- 
terest. This  branch  consists  of  all  those  departments  en- 
gaged in  providing  and  maintaining  efficient  manufac- 
turing conditions.  It  may,  for  example,  include  the 
watchmen,  cleaners,  elevator  operators,  known  as  the 
service  department,  the  house  carpenter's  department, 
the  millwright  department,  which  includes  the  machine 
oilers,  pipe  fitters,  millwrights  and  motor  tenders,  whose 
primary  duties  are  to  keep  the  transmission  equipment 
at  the  highest  state  of  efficiency,  and  also  to  make  such 
changes  in  the  plumbing  and  steam  systems  as  may  be 
required  from  time  to  time. 

Under  this  branch  comes  also  the  steam  and  electric 


MAPPING    DEPARTMENTS 


93 


generating  plant,  which  is  responsible  for  the  operation 
and  efficiency  of  all  equipment  and  auxiliary  apparatus 
in  the  boiler  and  engine  rooms.  In  some  big  factories 
there  may  also  be  the  house  wiring  department,  whose 


FIGURE  XI:     The  pyramid  chart  shown  here  is  used  in  many  organiza- 
tions.    Each  department — sales,  manufacturing,  and  so  on — has  its  own 
pyramid  which  fits  into  the  pyramid  of  general  organization. 

primary  duties  are  the  making  of  such  repairs  and 
changes  to  the  electric  wiring,  both  for  illumination  and 
power,  as  may  be  required. 

These  departments,  like  the  strictly  manufacturing 
departments,  may  each  be  under  the  supervision  of  a 
foreman  and  have  a  regular  departmental  organization 
similar  to  the  productive  departments.  The  branch  as 
a  whole  is  in  charge  of  the  factory  engineer.  He  may 
report  to  the  shop  superintendent  relative  to  fuel  and 
power  Consumption,  and  also  make  such  recommenda- 
tions for  increased  equipment  as,  in  his  judgment,  are 


94 


BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 


required  for  the  most  effective  operation. 

How  the  production  and  clerical  branch  of  a  machine 
shop  may  be  organized  in  two  distinct  divisions,  the 
production  and  clerical  divisions,  respectively,  is  shown 
in  Figure  VI. 

The  work  of  the  production  division  consists  of 
scheduling  orders  through  the  work,  determining  maxi- 
mum and  minimum  stock  limits,  supervising  the  work 
of  the  store  rooms,  and  placing  orders  on  the  purchas- 
ing department  for  raw  material.  The  clerical  division 
keeps  accurate  records  relative  to  the  operations  of 
the  various  departments  throughout  the  factory,  the 
expense  and  output  of  each,  the  degree  of  efficiency  as 
shown  by  comparative  statements,  and  so  on. 


f 

{PLANT 

CARPENTER 

STORES 

POWER 

PURCHASE 

A  COM  PACT 

PRESIDENT 

P  DRAFTING 

MANU- 
FACTURING " 

AND              < 
GEN    MANAGER 

I     MANUFACTURING   DEPARTMENTS 

ORGANIZATION 

{RECORDS 

TIMEKEEPING 

INVOICES 

COSTS 

ORDERS 

TREASURER    < 

[SALESMEN 
BOOKKEEPERS 

FIGURE  XII:     Analysis  of  authorities  in  a  small  plant,  in  which  indi- 
vidual abilities  largely  determine  duties,  is  here  shown.     Similar  analysis 
can  be  made  in  every  plant  and  should  be  graphically  represented 

These  general  tendencies  in  charting  the  organization 
of  a  metal-working  factory  hold  good  in  many  other 
classes  of  manufacturing.  How  conditions  in  different 
classes  of  factories  affect  the  application  of  principles  is 


MAPPING    DEPARTMENTS 95 

made  clear  in  the  charts.  Naturally,  in  the  small  plant, 
the  subdivision  of  branches  is  not  carried  to  the  ex- 
tent deemed  advisable  in  larger  plants.  Yet  the  form 
of  the  chart  in  such  an  industry  may  be  such  that  the 
chart  expands  naturally  with  the  business. 

The  charts  may  vary  in  form.  The  "  balloon "  dia- 
gram (Figure  VIII)  is  perhaps  most  widely  used.  But 
the  " pyramid "  method  (Figure  XI)  has  been  adopted 
by  some  large  organizations.  The  chart  may  be  shaped 
to  indicate  control  in  other  ways.  Take  the  unique 
power  house  organization  diagram  illustrated  in  Figure 
X.  Here  the  outer  ring  represents  the  authority  of  the 
chief  engineer,  while  the  lines  to  the  central  ring  show 
the  authority  of  his  assistant  when  the  chief  is  present 
and  when  he  is  absent.  Other  methods  of  representation 
are  illustrated  in  Figures  VII,  IX  and  XII. 


/^JBSOLETE  machinery  is  the  foe  of  profits,  the  brother  of 
^s  high  cost  and  the  friend  of  bad  methods. 


—William  C.  Redfield 

Secretary  of  Commerce 


HOW  TO  LAY  OUT 
MACHINERY 

By  D.  C.  Eggleston,  M.  E.,  C.  P.  A. 

ORRECT  location  of  machinery  in  any  factory  re- 
quires  the  consideration  of  many  items,  for  the 
most  economical  arrangement  of  machines  is  reached 
only  after  plans  have  been  made  which  include  the  re- 
lation of  aisles,  power,  light,  handling  of  materials  to 
and  from  the  machines,  foundations  and  blowers. 

A  great  deal  of  space  is  sometimes  wasted  unneces- 
sarily in  aisles,  and  because  machines  are  poorly  ar- 
ranged with  reference  to  shafting,  power  is  often 
wasted  in  transmission.  This  arrangement  of  machines 
with  relation  to  power  is  often  complicated  by  the  fact 
that  light  has  to  be  considered.  In  one  factory  the 
workmen  had  to  stand  with  their  backs  to  the  windows 
and  were  consequently  always  in  their  own  light  because 
the  line-shafting  had  been  laid  out  so  that  the  power 
could  be  transmitted  to  the  machines  only  when  they 
were  facing  toward  the  center  of  the  shop  instead  of  to- 
ward the  wall. 

Proper  consideration  must  be  given  to  the  handling 
of  material  to  and  from  the  machines.  A  great  deal  of 
space  can  be  saved  by  handling  material  to  and  from  the 
machines  on  trucks  and,  of  course,  the  character  of  the 
mrterial  must  always  be  taken  into  consideration,  for, 
a?  in  the  case  of  automatic  turret  lathes,  material  is 


WHERE    TO    PUT    MACHINES 97 

fed  to  the  machine  in  rods  and  bars  of  considerable 
length,  and  space  has  to  be  provided  for  getting  this  ma- 
terial to  the  machines. 

The  location  of  cranes,  hoists  and  blowers  all  have 
their  effect  on  the  arrangement.  In  building  several 
stories  of  mill  construction  the  question  of  foundation 
has  to  be  carefully  considered.  In  concrete  buildings 
the  floor  loads  can  be  distributed  with  considerably 
more  freedom  over  the  floor  space  than  in  buildings 
where  wooden  floors  are  used.  In  laying  out  machinery, 
consequently,  either  in  a  new  factory  or  in  re-arranging 
departments  in  an  old  plant,  best  results  are  obtained 
by  making  a  plan  of  the  work  so  that  the  exact  location 
of  all  the  equipment  and  its  inter-relation  can  be  seen 
before  changes  are  made. 

T>LUEPRINTS  of  the  floor  plans  showing  where  each 
-D  machine  is  located  are  a  valuable  aid  in  preparing 
for  the  most  economical  handling  of  the  work. 

Floor  plans  of  this  sort  have  another  advantage.  In 
one  factory  the  prime  object  of  laying  out  a  plan  of 
this  sort  was  to  shorten  the  time  in  taking  an  inventory. 
In  this  factory  were  a  great  many  tools  more  or  less 
similar  in  character  and  every  year  at  inventory  time  a 
good  many  hours  were  wasted  in  identifying  these  tools 
and  checking  them  with  past  inventories.  After  floor 
plans  of  the  factory  had  been  drawn  and  each  tool  lo- 
cated with  its  names,  all  tools  were  given  numbers. 
These  numbers  were  painted  in  red  on  each  machine  so 
that  thereafter  the  plan  of  the  factory  was  in  itself  an 
inventory  of  the  operating  equipment. 

One  of  the  quickest  and  most  satisfactory  ways  of 
laying  out  machines  is  to  cut  templates  out  of  card- 
board the  shape  of  the  space  obstructed  by  each  machine 


98 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

or  fixture.  These  templates  are  made  to  the  same  scale 
as  the  architectural  drawings  of  the  floor  plans  so  that 
when  they  are  arranged  on  the  drawing  they  show  at 
once  the  relative  location  of  all  the  machines  in  the 
building.  This  plan  can  be  followed  in  both  the  large 
and  small  factory  to  advantage.  In  one  large  factory 
where  department  changes  are  constantly  being  made, 
standard  sets  of  templates  are  made  for  different  ma- 
chines and  are  filed  in  the  drafting  room  so  that  no  time 
is  lost  in  laying  out  a  new  department  or  rearranging 
an  old  one. 

First  a  blueprint  is  taken  of  the  plan,  then  the 
cardboard  templates  corresponding  in  size  to  the  floor 
space  used  by  the  machines  are  placed  upon  the  blue- 
print with  due  reference  to  the  proper  methods  of  ar- 
rangement noted  above.  By  using  templates  in  this  way 
it  is  a  simple  matter  to  arrange  machines  so  that  the 
work  can  be  routed  through  a  department  from  one  ma- 
chine to  another.  The  whole  story  is  told  on  the  draft- 
ing board,  and  by  fastening  the  templates  to  the  board 
temporarily  by  pins  or  thumb  tacks  the  layout  of  the 
department  can  be  studied  exactly  as  it  will  appear.  In 
developing  a  plan  of  this  sort  a  good  many  unusual  con- 
ditions will  be  found  not  otherwise  considered. 

Sometimes  local  boards  of  health  require  that  a  cer- 
tain number  of  cubic  feet  of  air  be  assigned  to  every 
operator  in  order  to  prevent  overcrowding  in  the  fac- 
tory. This  must  be  taken  into  account  when  making 
the  layout.  Sometimes  store  rooms  not  only  for  raw 
material  but  also  for  material  in  process  help  reduce 
the  amount  of  aisle  space  required.  Generally  one- 
half  of  the  private  aisle  is  allowed  for  operators  on 
the  machines  and  one-half  for  the  transportation  of  ma- 
terial. Screw  machines  may  be  staggered  so  that  the 


WHERE    TO    PUT    MACHINES  99 

rods  will  not  interfere  with  each  other  or  they  may  be 
set  at  an  angle  so  that  the  rods  of  material  entering  one 
machine  will  lie  behind  the  next  machine. 

After  the  plan  has  been  thoroughly  considered  and 
finally  laid  out,  a  drawing  of  the  arrangement  can  be 
made  for  reference.  These  final  drawings  are  of  value 
in  answering  questions  which  would  otherwise  require 
considerable  time.  It  may  be  necessary,  on  account  of 
production,  to  add  a  new  machine  or  substitute  a  larger 
type  machine  for  one  already  in  use  in  a  department. 
Instead  of  having  to  go  out  into  the  shop  and  measure 
up  the  location  with  reference  to  the  floor  plan  on  which 
the  machines  are  laid,  any  scale  will  quickly  show 
whether  the  new  equipment  can  be  arranged  for. 

When  any  changes  are  made  in  the  arrangement  of 
machines  the  corresponding  changes  should,  of  course, 
be  made  in  the  drawings.  In  one  factory,  one  set  of 
blueprints  is  kept  always  in  the  safe  so  that  ft  may 
have  a  value  in  proving  the  amount  of  loss  in  case  of 
fire.  Blueprints  of  this  sort  may  be  supplemented  by 
card  indexes  of  machine  equipment  showing  the  pur- 
chaser's name,  date  of  purchase  and  in  fact  a  complete 
history  of  each  tool  in  the  factory.  In  the  small  fac- 
tory, however,  much  of  this  information  can  be  kept 
conveniently  on  a  chart,  without  an  additional  set  of 
card  records. 


HPHE  way  it  was  done  may  be  the  best  way.     But  in  any 
L    event,  no  matter  what  the  business,  it  pays  to  get  outside 
the  detail  occasionally  and  look  into  the  factory,  not  at  it. 

— F.  C.  Cutler 

Of  The  Worcester  Pressed  Steel  Company 


XI 


MAKING  STRAIGHT  PATHS 
FOR  WORK 

By  S.  F.  Joor 
Conveyor  Engineer 

STRAIGHT  line  work  in  a  stove  factory  has  come  to 
high  perfection  through  the  use  of  a  thoroughly  up- 
to-date  conveyor  system,  which  does  away  with  the  con- 
stant picking  up  and  putting  down  of  work.  In  this 
concern,  stove  castings  are  received  at  one  end  of  a  long 
assembly  conveyor  which  travels  at  a  very  slow  rate  of 
speed.  As  the  castings  move  along  the  conveyors,  they 
are  removed  at  three  or  four  drilling  points,  located  a 
short  distance  from  the  receiving  room,  where  the  vari- 
ous parts  are  drilled.  Then  they  are  placed  on  the 
same  conveyor,  which  carries  them  to  the  polishing  and 
plating  department.  Here  the  parts  are  automatically 
removed,  polished,  plated  and  stored  until  finished, 
when  they  are  again  placed  on  the  conveyor  and  passed 
to  the  assembly  department. 

The  various  assembly  parts  are  stored  by  means  of 
auxiliary  conveyors  in  bins  arranged  to  receive  these 
parts,  so  that  as  the  operator  assembling  finished  stoves 
passes  these  bins  adjacent  to  the  conveyor,  he  takes 
from  them  the  parts  required.  The  partially  assembled 
stove  is  just  in  front  of  the  bin  where  the  next  parts 
to  be  used  are  stored.  Each  part  as  it  is  successively 
wanted  is  taken  from  the  bin  and  connected  to  the 
practically  assembled  stove  so  that  by  the  time  the  slow 


STRAIGHT    PATHS    FOR    WORK 101 

moving  conveyor  has  run  clear  through  the  length  of  the 
assembly   room   and  passed  all   th?  , storage,  bins,-...t:ie 
various  parts  necessary  for  the  complete  §tp,ye,  h&ye  t  all 
been   assembled  on  a  moving  assembly  "ablo,  or ,  30^1 
veyor. 

T7' CONOMIC AL  processing  of  work  requires  that  it 
JL_J  pass  in  a  straight  line  from  receiving  room  door  to 
shipping  room  door — how  conveyors  help. 

As  it  passes  the  wrapping  and  crating  department, 
the  necessary  operations  there  are  performed,  and  the 
stove  is  then  moved  on  by  the  conveyor  to  the  loading 
department  and  from  there  to  the  cars.  In  the  as- 
sembly of  these  stoves  all  but  the  absolutely  essential 
manual  handling  of  material  has  been  eliminated.  There 
is  no  unnecessary  picking  up  and  putting  down  of  ma- 
terial, with  its  consequent  waste  of  energy,  time  and 
money. 

In  ideal  factory  transportation  the  material  should 
move  from  the  crude  state  to  the  complete  finished 
product  without  manual  handling  at  any  stage  and 
should  pass  through  the  shortest  possible  routes.  This 
main  idea  that  crude  material  should  be  received  at  one 
end  or  side  of  a  plant  and,  with  the  necessary  provisions 
for  local  and  temporary  storage,  pass  from  a  conveyor 
system  carrying  the  crude  material  to  the  machines 
which  will  treat  it  successively,  should  be  adhered  to  as 
much  as  possible. 

There  should  be  an  arrangement  to  feed  the  material 
right  at  the  machines,  stopping  it  automatically  until 
it  is  removed  and  treated  by  the  machine,  then  replac- 
ing it  on  the  conveyor  immediately  at  the  machine  for 
transmission  to  the  next  stage  of  treatment.  At  the 
stages  where  partially  completed  material  must  be  stored 


102  BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

temporarily,  provision  should  be  made  to  store  it  as 
near  as  possible  to  the  point  at  which  the  treating 
process  ,  takes  place.  The  storage  space  should  be  ac- 
cessible by  power -ar*  by  gravity  in  both  directions  and, 
if  by  gravity,  the  movement  should  be  under  full  con- 
trol at  all  times. 

Many  factories  have  little  more  idea  of  the  proper 
method  of  providing  straight  lines  for  work  than  is  ex- 
hibited in  a  preserve  factory.  In  this  concern,  the  bot- 
tles are  received  in  crates  and  carried  to  the  top  floor. 
All  empty  boxes  are  delivered  on  the  same  floor.  The 
bottles  are  opened  and  washed,  the  boxes  lined  with 
paper,  and  then  the  clean  bottles  are  turned  mouth  down 
in  the  boxes.  Next,  the  boxes  and  bottles  are  piled  to- 
gether on  a  truck,  taken  to  a  platform  elevator  and 
lowered  to  a  room  on  the  next  floor.  One  elevator  serves 
a  floor  space  approximately  150  by  200  feet. 

The  preserve  material  is  prepared  and  cooked  in  sev- 
eral different  parts  of  this  room,  with  the  exception  of 
the  flavoring  extract  department,  which  is  separate.  Yet 
both  departments  are  served  with  bottles  by  the  same 
truck.  The  truck  is  stopped  in  front  of  the  cooking  de- 
partment and  the  material  taken  off.  The  bottles  are 
taken  out  and  filled  with  the  cooked  product,  put  back 
into  the  boxes  again,  packed  and  piled  onto  the  trucks. 
They  are  then  taken  to  another  portion  of  the  room  to 
be  inspected.  Here  they  are  unpacked  and  repacked, 
loaded  on  another  truck  and  carried  to  the  labeling  and 
corking  department  located  in  another  distant  part  of 
the  room. 

They  are  then  unpacked  again,  the  labeling  and  cork- 
ing inspected,  repacked,  the  material  loaded  on  a  truck 
and  taken  to  the  shipping  room  where  the  covers  of  the 
boxes  are  nailed  on.  Some  of  the  material  going  into 


STRAIGHT    PATHS    FOR    WORK 103 

bottles  must  remain  uncorked  for  from  twenty-four  to 
thirty-six  hours.  Bottles  containing  this  material  are 
sent  up  into  a  temporary  storage  room  where  they  under- 
go additional  handling. 

There  is  a  continual  picking  up  and  putting  down  of 
material,  constant  wastes  of  energy  and  time.  This 
occurs  in  every  factory  to  a  more  or  less  extent,  the 
amount  depending  in  a  great  measure  upon  the  consider- 
ation given  the  subject  of  transporting  materials  in  the 
most  economical  and  efficient  manner. 

If  this  factory  had  been  designed  with  a  view  to 
efficient  routing  and  transporting  of  the  factory  prod- 
ucts, the  bottles  would  have  been  placed  in  some  form 
of  conveyor  and  passed  directly  to  the  cleaning  depart- 
ment, from  there  to  the  filling  department,  where  they 
would  be  filled  without  leaving  the  conveyor,  and  then 
passed  on  to  the  inspection,  corking  and  labeling  de- 
partments. The  material  to  remain  uncorked  for  a  cer- 
tain period  would  pass  on  to  a  storage  conveyor  and, 
after  remaining  for  the  required  length  of  time,  would 
be  returned  by  the  same  conveyor  and  passed  on  to  the 
inspection  and  packing  departments  with  only  one  han- 
dling. The  loss  of  time  and  the  consequent  increase  in 
cost  of  production  is  wholly  due  to  the  failure  to  plan 
production  so  that  it  will  follow  straight  paths  from  re- 
ceiving room  to  shipping  department. 

In  every  factory  conditions  of  routing  and  transport- 
ing factory  products  can  be  improved  to  a  great  extent 
by  a  careful  study  of  a  proper  conveyor  system  to 
eliminate  the  constant  picking  up  and  putting  down  of 
work.  Any  system  installed  in  a  department  or  unit 
must  not  only  be  considered  on  the  basis  of  immediate 
saving,  but  upon  the  relation  of  this  system  to  the  fac- 
tory as  a  whole. 


104 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

Conveyors  serve  to  eliminate  the  labor  of  handling 
operations  which  would  be  unnecessary  if  the  factory 
were  laid  out  at  the  very  beginning  with  the  proper 
conveyor  equipment. 

In  the  ideal  system  each  successive  stage  should  be 
carried  out  along  the  direct  line  of  development  of  the 
product,  so  that  the  process  material  entering  the  con- 
veyor system  at  the  crude  material  end  will  pass  suc- 
cessively before  each  stage  of  treatment  without  being 
packed  into  any  kind  of  receivers,  and  without  any  care 
as  to  handling  by  the  men  who  actually  conduct  the 
process  upon  the  crude  material.  It  should  be  handled 
as  far  as  possible  without  trucks  and  without  mixing  up 
material  in  storage.  The  process  material  should  go 
from  the  crude  to  the  finished  stage  by  a  fixed  and  defi- 
nite route,  and  should  move  at  a  definite  speed  and  in 
definite  quantities. 

DIFFERENT  kinds  of  material  require  the  use  of        » 
different  types  of  conveyors — elimination  of  the  con- 
stant picking  up  and  putting  down  of  work. 

When  the  treatment  is  more  or  less  complex  and  the 
partially  treated  material  must  pass  through  several 
different  routes  to  be  worked  up  into  various  forms  of 
finished  product,  it  is  necessary  at  certain  treating  points 
to  have  elective  routes  where  the  material  may  pass  to 
these  divergent  points.  But  the  main  idea  that  the 
material  must  pass  through  the  entire  treatment  with- 
out manual  handling,  by  the  shortest  possible  route, 
and  should  move  in  the  most  economical  quantities  and 
at  the  least  expensive  speed,  should  be  strictly  adhered 
to. 

Many  factories  conform,  more  or  less,  to  these  prin- 
ciples. For  the  handling  of  finished  product  in  the 


STRAIGHT    PATHS    FOR    WORK 105 

storage  room,  a  most  flexible  form  of  conveyor  for  pack- 
ages of  reasonable  weight  is  an  electric  hoist,  self-pro- 
pelling, on  a  steel  overhead  tracking  system  which  al- 
lows the  deposit  of  finished  material  in  boxes  without 
manual  handling,  and  also  allows  the  removal  of  these 
boxes  by  the  same  electric  hoist  system  from  the  store 
rooms  through  hatches  over  the  shipping  floor  below. 

Various  classes  of  material,  of  course,  require  differ- 
ent types  of  conveyor  apparatus.  If  the  material  is 
gritty  and  in  bulk,  the  belt  conveyor  form  is  practically 
the  only  satisfactory  means  of  handling.  In  the  case 
of  optional  routes,  short  portable  conveyors  may  be 
used.  Several  of  these  may  be  coupled  up  in  groups 
in  order  to  cover  a  longer  distance.  This  portable  sys- 
tem may  be  broken  up  in  a  very  few  minutes  into  a 
number  of  units  to  be  used  in  different  places. 

If  material  is  more  or  less  in  large  pieces,  the  belt 
is  readily  replaced  by  a  conveyor  made  of  wooden  slats 
running  on  rollers  which  forms  a  wood  surface  that  can 
be  operated  under  all  conditions  where  the  belt  is  used, 
except  for  the  portable  features  which  are  not  readily 
accomplished  in  this  case.  Many  of  these  conveyors 
will  operate  at  an  inclination  of  twenty  degrees  and  can 
be  made  light  enough  to  handle  money  orders  for  post 
offices  or  strong  enough  to  carry  heavy  castings  and 
forgings.  For  handling  sand,  broken  stone,  coal  and 
similar  material,  a  standard  pivoted  conveyor  is  prob- 
ably the  most  economical. 

Picking  up  and  putting  down  material  consumes  in 
the  course  of  a  year  a  very  large  amount  of  time  and 
labor.  And  in  every  factory  J  these  wastes  exist  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree.  They  are  preventable  and  should 
be  eliminated.  The  one  thing  constantly  to  remember 
is  to  plan  work  so  that  in  routing  it  the  raw  materials  will 


106 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

proceed  in  a  straight  line  from  first  to  last,  as  far  as  this 
is  possible.  Zigzag  traveling  of  work  in  process  from  one 
part  of  the  shop  to  another  is  often  a  big  item  in  shop 
wastes.  Conveyors  and  automatic  devices  do  away  with 
the  necessity  of  constantly  picking  up  and  putting  down 
work,  and  by  properly  selecting  them,  time  and  money 
can  be  saved  in  operating  the  factory.  Not  least  valu- 
able is  the  point  that  automatic  conveyors  set  the  pace 
for  work  in  the  departments  where  they  are  used. 


/^\RDERLY  production  is  the  basis  of  economical  produc- 
^^  tion.  When  a  factory  can  be  arranged  so  that  buildings 
form  consecutive  links  in  the  production  chain,  starting  with 
the  pattern  shop  and  ending  with  the  complete  machine  on  the 
erecting  floor,  that  plant  has  a  basis  of  operation  which  ap- 
proaches the  ideal.  And  what  is  true  for  the  buildings  col- 
lectively holds  good  for  the  individual  shops.  Tools  must  be  so 
arranged  that  the  work  starting  at  one  end  of  the  building 
moves  naturally  down  its  length  without  kinks  which  cause 
confusion  and  lost  motion  in  the  line  of  production. 

— O.  W.  Mueller 

President,  The  Mueller  Machine  Tool  Company 


XII 

MAXIMUM  OUTPUT  FROM 
YOUR  MACHINES 

By  Heary  M.  Wood 
Of  The  Lodge  &  Shipley  Machine  Tool  Company 

ELIMINATION  of  idle  machines  is  the  final  aim  of 
nearly,  all  revised  shop  methods.  The  factory 
manager  often  finds  that  a  modern  machine  tool  will 
give  four  times  the  output  of  one  of  his  old  ones.  The 
greater  the  productive  capacity  of  a  given  machine,  the 
greater  is  the  loss  in  output  whenever  it  is  idle.  In 
addition  to  this  loss,  it  is  more  than  likely  that  the  new 
tool  represents  a  greater  first  cost,  so  that  somewhat 
heavier  interest  and  depreciation  charges  have  to  be 
met  before  the  machine  will  show  a  profit. 

To  utilize  to  the  fullest  extent  the  possibility  of  in- 
creased production  and  avoid  loss  due  to  heavy  interest 
charges  on  investment,  means  that  changes  must  be 
made  all  along  the  line  in  the  old  order  of  shop  practice. 

First,  methods  may  have  to  be  adopted  to  meet  the 
newer  equipment  by  a  general  keying-up  of  production. 
Next,  you  may  have  to  consider  how  you  handle  material 
between  machines.  Finally,  the  relation  of  the  man 
to  the  machine,  the  cost  of  tools,  supplies  and  power  in 
turn  must  be  considered  if  each  machine  is  to  be  used 
to  the  best  advantage. 

Every  factory  man  knows  how  a  new  machine  may 
demand  a  readjustment  of  methods.  Not  as  [many 
realize  that  there  may  be  a  shop  policy.  In  our  plant, 


108 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

for  example,  a  number  of  boys  do  nothing  but  run 
errands  for  the  machinists  to  and  from  the  tool  room. 
Thus  a  twenty-dollar  man  is  not  doing  work  which  a 
five-dollar  boy  can  do  just  as  well.  And  what  is  of 
even  more  importance,  the  operator  remains  at  his 
machine  so  that  the  output  is  not  temporarily  stopped. 

THOROUGH  analysis  of  operations  and  conditions 
eliminates    unnecessary    movements    which    lessen 
workmen's  efficiency  and  cut  down  output. 

Formerly,  each  machinist  filled  out  his  own  time 
ticket.  Now  it  is  found  more  economical  to  have  special 
timekeepers  who  periodically  make  the  round  of  all 
machines  and  jot  down  all  of  the  data  which  heretofore 
each  operator  had  recorded  for  himself. 

This  new  method  of  marking  the  time  tickets  is  used 
partly  for  the  convenience  of  the  cost  department,  and 
partly  to  prevent  an  idle  machine  while  the  operator 
might  do  his  own  bookkeeping. 

Another  of  the  main  questions  involved  is  the  policy 
of  handling  materials.  Machinists  are  not  allowed  to 
run  out  of  work.  A  recent  shop  rule  requires  that  each 
operator  be  supplied  with  work  for  one  day  in  advance. 
To  insure  the  carrying  out  of  this  rule,  and  to  prevent 
the  sidetracking  of  needed  material,  a  complete  system 
of  routing  has  been  worked  out,  covering  all  of  the  shop 
departments  through  which  each  piece  must  pass  from 
the  receipt  of  the  raw  material  to  the  assembling  of  the 
finished  machine. 

To  check  up  the  work  and  see  that  the  various  pieces 
are  promptly  moved  in  accordance  with  their  routings, 
a  special  trace  clerk  is  continually  making  the  rounds 
of  the  factory. 

Adequate  crane  service  in  a  plant  handling  a  medium 


MAXIMUM  MACHINE  OUTPUT 109 

or  heavy  line  of  work  becomes  more  and  more  essential 
with  the  introduction  of  more  powerful  machine  tools. 
For  moving  the  lighter  parts  hand  trucks  are  used. 
They  require  definitely  marked-out  aisles  and  a  strict 
rule  that  no  material  ever  be  stored  even  temporarily 
within  the  "dead  line"  marking  the  boundary  of  the 
aisles. 

The  movements  which  the  operator  has  to  go  through 
in  handling  work  in  and  out  of  his  machine  will  bear 
careful  analysis.  This  is  one  of  the  important  aspects 
of  scientific  management.  Never  compel  a  man  to  be 
continually  stooping  in  order  to  pick  up  small  parts 
from  the  floor.  Such  work  should  be  placed  by  the 
laborer  who  does  the  trucking  on  racks  within  reach  of 
the  operator  and  arranged  in  regular  order. 

Often  a  "shop  kink"  to  suit  the  individual  case 
will  enable  the  operator  himself  to  reduce  considerably 
the  time  lost  in  handling  the  work  in  and  out  of  his 
machine.  In  milling  the  bases  of  sad  irons  a  rotary  table 
is  used  with  independent  checks  for  holding  six  irons; 
the  table  is  revolved  continuously  by  power  so  as  to 
feed  the  irons  successively  past  the  face  mill  which 
does  the  surfacing;  while  the  milling  cutter  is  machin- 
ing the  irons  on  one  side  of  the  table,  the  operator  at 
the  other  side  removes  the  finished  castings  as  fast  as 
they  come  around  and  replaces  them  with  rough  ones; 
thus  no  time  at  all  is  lost  during  the  chucking  opera- 
tions. A  similar  saving  can  be  made  in  the  lathe  depart- 
ment, on  work  turned  between  centers,  by  using  two 
dogs;  while  one  piece  with  dog  attached  is  in  the  lathe 
and  under  cut,  the  operator  removes  the  second  dog 
from  the  piece  last  finished  and  attaches  it  to  an  un- 
finished piece  ready  to  put  into  the  lathe  as  soon  as 
his  cut  runs  out. 


110 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

The  usual  prejudice  to  be  overcome  in  introducing 
a  new  machine  is  the  workman's  idea  that  such  greatly 
increased  output  will  mean  throwing  men  out  of  work. 
It  is  the  same  old  objection  that  was  offered  to  the  intro- 
duction of  the  steam  engine.  High-grade  men  have  to 
be  educated  to  a  realization  of  the  fact  that  more  pro- 
duction means  greater  total  wealth  for  the  community 
with  greater  opportunities  even  if  the  field  for  some 
may  thereby  be  changed  to  other  lines. 

The  more  a  man  produces,  the  more  he  is  worth; 
and  one  successful  way  of  proving  this  fact  to  men  is 
the  premium  system  of  wage  payment. 

Most  modern  machine  tools  do  not  require  all  round 
machinists  for  their  operation.  There  is  a  tendency 
in  design  toward  "single  purpose  machines."  It  makes 
for  greater  accuracy  of  work,  increased  production  and 
general  economy  to  have  the  machine  operator  specialize 
in  one  line  of  work  so  that  he  can  become  more  expert. 

For  such  cases  almost  any  man  of  fair  intelligence 
who  is  willing  to  be  taught  and  to  work  will  make  good. 
Much  responsibility  must  rest  upon  the  foreman  in 
carefully  instructing  men  under  him.  Scientific  man- 
agement takes  account  of  this  fact,  and  the  planning  of 
the  work  is  distinctly  separated  from  the  performance 
of  the  job. 

In  many  cases  the  cost  of  tools  will  be  the  determin- 
ing factor  in  deciding  upon  the  type  of  machine.  For 
example,  on  certain  work  the  turret  lathe  with  full 
equipment  of  high-priced  tools  is  much  faster  than  the 
engine  lathe  and,  therefore,  the  best  machine  regardless 
of  tool  expense.  On  other  work,  the  engine  lathe  will 
be  much  faster  than  the  turret  lathe. 

In  still  another  case,  neither  machine  will  show  an 
appreciable  gain  in  production  over  the  other,  but  the 


MAXIMUM     MACHINE    OUTPUT 111 

turret  lathe  will  require  an  equipment  of  turners,  hol- 
low mills,  dies,  and  so  on,  not  only  high  in  first  cost, 
but  very  expensive  to  maintain;  the  engine  lathe  re- 
quires two  or  three  simple  and  inexpensive  forged  tools. 
In  this  last  case  the  lower  tool  cost  would  make  the  de- 
cision unquestionably  in  favor  of  the  engine  lathe. 

Similarly,  it  will  sometimes  happen  that  a  planer  will 
be  a  better  investment  than  a  milling  machine,  because 
of  the  lower  cost  of  planer  tools. 

As  to  choice  between  modern  high-speed  steel  for 
cutting  tools  and  the  old  carbon  tool  steel,  the  former 
is  almost  always  the  better  investment.  High-speed 
steel  may  cost  several  times  as  much  per  pound,  but  it 
is  so  much  more  durable  and  can  be  worked  at  cutting 
speeds  so  much  greater  that  the  difference  in  first  cost 
is  negligible. 

Power  required  to  drive  a  machine  increases  as  the 
output  increases,  but  not  quite  in  direct  proportion. 
Suppose  an  old  lathe,  consuming  three  horsepower,  is 
replaced  by  a  new  lathe,  requiring  ten  horsepower  but 
capable  of  turning  out  four  times  as  much  work.  At  a 
liberal  allowance  the  new  lathe  would  cost  fifteen  cents 
per  hour  more  for  power  than  the  old  one. 

Against  this  increased  expense,  consider  that  the  out- 
put is  quadrupled,  where  the  operator's  pay  combined 
with  the  overhead  charges  for  manufacturing  expense 
and  selling  expense  would  be  at  least  eighty-five  cents 
per  hour.  The  increased  output  would  mean  a  gain  of 
$2.55  per  hour,  less  the  increased  cost  of  power,  mak- 
ing $2.40  net  gain. 

The  increased  power  required  by  a  rapid  production 
machine  tool,  therefore,  is  not  a  factor  to  be  considered. 

Wage  systems,  of  course,  enter  into  the  problem  of 
securing  maximum  machine  output.  You  must  first 


112 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

offer  the  worker  increased  compensation  for  the  in- 
creased effort  necessary  to  secure  the  greater  output 
and,  second,  you  must  have  the  cooperation  and  confi- 
dence of  the  men.  With  such  a  payment  plan  in  opera- 
tion, and  with  the  prompt  and  continuous  performance 
of  orders  assured,  work  progresses  with  fewer  hitches 
than  ever  before.  Both  foremen  and  workmen  are  striv- 
ing to  their  utmost  to  get  their  premiums.  The  little 
chats  that  were  once  indulged  in  by  the  men  are  en- 
tirely done  away  with.  Each  vies  with  the  other  for 
supremacy  in  his  work,  and  unproductive  hours  are 
reduced  to  a  minimum.  Idle  machines  rapidly  dis- 
appear. 


TN  ORDER  to  increase  production  a  manager  does  not 
•*•  study  his  plant  in  a  lump  sum,  but  goes  through  his  shop 
and  analyzes  each  operation  and  movement.  It  often  happens 
that  he  discovers  astonishing  possibilities  that  have  hidden 
themselves  for  years  in  the  most  transparent  disguises. 


—F.  C.  Cutler 

Of  The  Worcester  Pressed  Steel  Company 


XIII 

FIGURING   DEPRECIATION 
ON   EQUIPMENT 

By  Herbert  Foster 
Lecturer  in  Yale  University  on  Problems  of  Business  Management 

ONLY  within  comparatively  recent  times  has  the 
manufacturer  in  the  United  States  come  to  realize 
the  necessity  for  system  and  uniformity  in  inventory 
and  depreciation.  Formerly  the  one  item  carried  on 
the  books,  supposedly  representing  the  value  of  the 
asset — machinery,  tools,  and  so  on — was  deemed  suffi- 
cient for  all  practical  purposes  and  requirements.  As 
time  went  on,  however,  it  began  to  be  recognized  that 
some  more  specific  and  detailed  record  was  essential. 

Take  the  case  of  machinery,  for  instance.  Granting 
that  the  amount  carried  on  the  books  represented  even 
the  true  value,  it  was  for  mackinery  as  a  whole;  there 
were  no  records  indicating  the  value  of  each  separate 
unit  entering  into  the  aggregation. 

In  some  few  instances  an  inventory  of  all  machinery 
would  be  taken  at  not  very  oft-recurring  times,  valued, 
and  the  aggregate  compared  with  the  total  value  carried 
on  the  books;  but  this  was  the  exception  and  not  the 
rule. 

How  a  continuous  inventory  was  introduced  and 
maintained  in  one  factory  in  an  accurate  manner,  with- 
out involving  a  great  expenditure  of  time  and  labor, 
will  suggest  principles  which  can  be  applied  by  every 
manufacturer.  It  is  a  listing  of  machinery  and  other 


114 BUILDINGS    AND     EQUIPMENT 

fixed  assets  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  complete  unit 
record  of  correct  and  uniform  depreciation,  and  for 
insurance  adjustments,  should  the  latter  be  necessary. 
The  asset  machinery  is  taken  up  first.  It  is  essential 
that  each  machine  be  numbered.  Some  factory  man- 
agers accomplish  this  by  painting  the  number  on  the 
machine  in  a  prominent  place.  Experience  proves  that 
much  better  and  more  permanent  results  are  obtained 
when  a  plate  of  brass  or  steel  of  suitable  size,  with  the 
number  stamped  thereon,  is  affixed,  preferably  on  the 
front  of  the  machine.  A  brass  plate  bearing  the  num- 
ber 1150  is  shown  in  Form  I.  A  card,  properly  spaced, 
is  provided  for  recording  the  date  the  machine  was  in- 
stalled, the  number  the  machine  is  to  bear,  its  descrip- 
tion, where  it  is  to  be  located,  from  whom  it  was  pur- 
chased, and  so  on. 

TV/TETHODS  and  forms  used  to  keep  track  of  the  run- 
i.^.1.  ning  value  of  each  machine,  thus  insuring  that  the 
exact  cost  and  output  of  every  one  will  be  known. 

"When  a  new  machine  arrives,  a  card  (Form  III)  is 
filled  out,  and  the  number  which  has  been  assigned  is 
marked  in  red  ink  on  the  original  invoice  for  the 
machine  for  future  reference. 

This  card,  together  with  the  plate  bearing  the  num- 
ber, is  turned  over  to  a  person  whose  duty  it  is  to  see 
that  the  plate  is  duly  affixed  to  the  machine.  Under 
the  head  of  " Remarks"  is  written  the  exact  location  of 
the  machine  in  the  machine  room,  as  well  as  any  other 
necessary  detail.  The  delivery  of  the  card  to  the  prop- 
erly designated  person  in  the  office  signifies  that  the 
number  plate  has  been  attached  to  the  machine,  and 
the  record  in  the  continuous  inventory  is  made  accord- 
ingly. 


FIGURING     DEPRECIATION 


115 


At  the  end  of  the  month  (if  the  voucher  system,  is  in 
use,  it  is  done  immediately)  the  invoices  for  purchases 
are  analyzed  to  obtain  the  entries  for  the  private  jour- 
nal; each  item  to  be  charged  to  the  machinery  account 
is  taken  separately,  the  red  ink  number  is  noted,  and 
the  corresponding  card  found  for  every  item  to  be 


FORM  I  (front  figure  at  left):  Number  plate  fastened  to  machines. 
FORM  II  (front  figure  at  right):  Card  on  which  machines  are  indexed. 
FORM  HI  (large  sheet);  Blank  which  keeps  the  complete  history  of  each 

machine 

charged.  Any  missing  cards  are  located  before  making 
the  entries,  as  it  is  essential  that  the  charges  to  the 
account  and  the  additional  sheets  correspond  each  month 
in  order  to  keep  the  system  in  perfect  agreement. 

The  information  contained  on  the  card  (Form  II)  is 
then  copied  on  a  sheet  ruled  and  printed  as  shown  in 
Form  III,  after  which  it  will  be  found  advisable  to  file 
it  away  numerically  for  cross-reference  purposes. 

This  sheet  (Form  III)  is  ruled  and  printed  alike  on 
both  sides  and  has  holes  punched  on  both  edges.  When 
one  side  is  filled,  the  sheet  may  be  reversed,  affording 
the  user  the  advantage  of  being  able  to  always  write 


116 BUILDINGS    AND    EQUIPMENT 

on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  binder,  which  will  be  found 
most  convenient  in  this  or  any  other  loose-leaf  book. 

In  the  debit  column  of  the  sheet  is  written  the  date 
the  machine  is  purchased  and  the  amount  of  invoice  or 
the  amount  posted  to  the  machinery  account  for  this 
particular  machine  in  the  private  ledger. 

The  sheet  is  then  filed  in  its  proper  place  in  the 
binder,  under  the  index  page  " Machine  Room."  This 
binder  should  be  one  of  the  ordinary  ring  binders  com- 
monly used,  so  as  to  permit  of  sheets  being  inserted  or 
extracted  at  will. 

The  plan  calls  for  a  set  of  index  sheets,  one  for  every 
machine  unit  to  be  found  in  this  room. 

This  sheet  provides,  in  addition  to  the  description, 
debit  and  credit  columns,  a  column  for  "Amount  to  be 
Depreciated,"  a  column  for  the  amount  of  such  depre- 
ciation, aand  one  also  for  the  amount  of  depreciation 
written  off  year  by  year. 

In  the  case  of  the  sheet  shown.  No.  1150,  in  the  debit 
column  appears  the  charge,  "setting  up,  $14.95."  This 
charge,  as  the  item  indicates,  is  for  work  performed  by 
the  factory  force  in  setting  up  the  machine  for  opera- 
tion and  has  been  made  to  the  machinery  account  on  the 
regular  books;  the  factory  accounts,  labor  and  supplies 
are  duly  credited. 

The  object  of  the  "Amounts  to  be  Depreciated"  col- 
umn is  to  designate  separately  such  items  as  are  to  be 
depreciated.  In  Form  III,  according  to  the  debit  side 
of  the  account,  the  total  cost  of  the  machine  plus  the 
cost  of  setting  up  is  $614.95.  If  an  attachment  should 
later  be  added  to  the  machine,  the  value  of  this  addi- 
tion would  also  be  placed  in  this  column  in  a  separate 
item,  the  amount  of  depreciation  extended  in  the 
"Amounts"  column  and  this  amount  added  to  that 


FIGURING    DEPRECIATION 117 

already  shown  ($30.75).  When  depreciation  is  next 
written  off,  instead  of  the  amount  being  $30.75,  the 
new  amount  will  be  used. 

These  amounts  of  depreciation  are  placed  to  the  credit 
of  the  account  and  the  balance  is  extracted.  This  bal- 
ance is  $553.45,  according  to  Form  III. 

After  the  sheets  are  checked  the  aggregate  sum  of  all 
the  balances  should  equal  the  amount  of  the  machinery 
account  on  the  private  ledger  after  the  depreciation  has 
been  deducted. 

By  listing  on  an  adding  machine  these  separate 
amounts  of  depreciation,  as  shown  on  each  sheet,  the 
total  gives  the  amount  of  depreciation  to  be  used  for 
the  account  in  the  private  ledger. 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  sheets  really  constitute  a 
subsidiary,  detailed  ledger,  of  whicH  the  machinery 
account  in  the  private  ledger  is  the  controlling  account. 

Machinery  alone  has  been  made  use  of  for  descriptive 
purposes.  It  is  apparent,  however,  that  this  same  plan 
is  available  for  all  other  assets.  For  instance,  if  tools 
are  of  such  nature  that  those  located  in  each  room  can 
be  numbered  and  similarly  kept  track  of,  it  would  be 
well  to  do  so,  using  the  prefix  "T"  for  differentiation; 
thus,  "T706"  would  be  understood  to  stand  for  "Tool 
706." 

Electrical  equipment  may  also  be  separated  and 
marked  in  a  similar  manner,  using  the  prefix  "E." 
"E915"  would  then  be  known  to  represent  "  Electrical 
915." 

By  separating,  numbering  and  recording  all  factory 
assets,  and  filing  them  under  their  properly  designated 
"  room-index-sheet, "  it  is  possible  for  one  to  have  at 
his  finger's  end  a  complete,  detailed  inventory  of  the 
various  permanent  assets  contained  in  every  room  on  the 


118 BUILDINGS    AND     EQUIPMENT 

establishment,  the  history  of  each  individual  unit,  from 
its  original  cost  or  valuation  to  its  present  value,  the 
amount  expended  for  new  attachments,  amount  of  de- 
preciation written  off  year  by  year,  and  so  on. 

Even  in  the  case  of  such  assets  as  cannot  be  numbered 
• — buildings,  pipes  and  fittings,  fire  apparatus,  shafting 
and  pulleys,  and  so  on — it  is  possible  to  figure  out  the 
correct  proportion  of  the  whole  amount  of  such  asset 
each  room  should  bear,  and  to  make  out  a  sheet  to  cover 
it. 

Should  you  have  occasion  to  scrap  a  certain  machine, 
as  improved  methods  of  production  may  well  force  you 
to  do,  the  present  value  of  your  machine  is  at  once  as- 
certainable  without  any  element  of  guess-work  or  un- 
certainty. You  know  precisely  the  relation  of  the 
initial  cost  to  the  scrapped  iron. 


"C'REQUENTLY,  it  is  found  that  some  machines  are  stand" 
•*•  ing  idle  more  of  the  time  than  they  are  in  use.  When 
not  in  use  they  represent  idle  capital,  floor  space  that  is  not 
only  non-productive  but  floor  space  that  is  absorbing  profits, 
because  this  unproductive  space  must  be  paid  for  in  the  ex- 
pense of  the  establishment. 

— Leon  S.  Oliver 


PART  III-SELECTING  A 
WAGE  PAYMENT  METHOD 

Working  with  Your  Men 

T  BELIEVE  one  of  the  greatest  assets  in  the 
successful  management  of  a  large  institution 
is  the  ability  of  the  manager  to  surround  himself 
with  competent  and  loyal  lieutenants,  who  will 
work  in  harmony  and  carry  out  the  policy  deter- 
mined upon  by  the  head. 

It  is  a  practice  which  has  been  followed  in  our 
experience  of  many  years  to  first  get  the  views 
and  the  opinions  of  these  lieutenants,  who  are  in 
close  touch  with  the  situation  in  their  respective 
departments.  This  opinion  is  weighed  carefully, 
and  if,  in  the  judgment  of  the  management,  the 
viewpoint  is  sound  and  logical,  it  is  adopted  and 
acted  upon. 

If,  however,  it  is  decided  by  the  management  to 
reject  the  recommendations  of  the  assistant  and 
adopt  a  different  line  of  action,  then  the  reasons 
for  such  action  are  given  to  the  assistant,  in  order 
to  insure  his  loyal  and  sympathetic  cooperation. 


FREDERICK  ROBINSON 

Vice-President,  The  J.  I.  Case  Threshing 
Machine  Company 


XIV 

PAYMENT  PLANS 
AND  WHERE  THEY  FIT 

By  C.  B.  Auel 
Director  of  Standards,  Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company 

OF  THE  three  general  systems  of  wage  payment — 
day  work,  piece  work  and  premium  work — the  last 
alone  needs  special  explanation.  In  day  work  plans  the 
employee  is  paid  by  the  hour,  day  or  shift,  and  the 
amount  of  work  completed  is  not  stipulated.  In  piece 
work,  the  next  oldest,  the  amount  of  work  done  is  paid 
for,  regardless  of  the  time  taken. 

Premium  work?  the  most  recent  form  of  wage  system, 
may  be  said  to  be  a  combination  of  day  and  of  piece 
work.  Both  the  time  of  employment  and  the  amount 
of  work  completed  are  taken  into  consideration.  The 
workman  is  paid  a  premium,  generally  in  the  form  of 
an  extra  wage,  for  extra  effort  over  and  above  that 
required  for  the  average  day's  work.  This  extra  effort 
is  not  always  manual,  for,  with  the  opportunity  of  mak- 
ing extra  compensation,  the  workman  is  led  to  develop 
many  ingenious  devices  to  aid  him  in  securing  the  addi- 
tional remuneration  possible  under  such  conditions. 

No  sweeping  statement  can  be  made  as  to  which  is 
the  best  wage  system,  because  each  has  a  field  of  its 
own.  For  example,  in  the  making  of  dies,  every  piece 
may  be  so  radically  different  from  every  other  piece  as 
practically  to  preclude  any  attempt  in  advance  at  gaug- 
ing, within  reasonably  accurate  limits,  the  time  required 


WAGE    PAYMENT    METHODS 


to  perform  the  work.  Under  these  conditions  the  only 
rational  method  of  paying  for  it  would  be  by  day  work. 
Day  work  offers  no  incentive  to  maximum  output;  a 
goodly  percentage  of  workmen  will,  therefore,  perform 
just  sufficient  work  to  satisfy  their  foremen  and  thus 
retain  their  jobs. 

WHEN  work  is  done  by  the  day  there  is  no  incentive 
for  maximum  output  —  piece  rates  supply  this  in' 
centive,  but  give  the  workman  too  large  profits. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  certain  kinds  of  work,  where 
the  apparatus  has  become  so  thoroughly  standardized 
as  to  permit  of  accurate  estimates  being  made  regarding 
the  time  required  for  the  performance  of  each  operation, 
and  where  the  extent  of  competition  is  fairly  well  known, 
piece  work  may  be  applied  to  advantage.  Payment  for 
work  which  has  become  standardized  in  its  main  fea- 
tures, though  the  details  continue  to  vary,  is  without 
doubt  made  most  equitably  by  the  premium  system. 

Day  work  is  the  most  expensive  method  of  payment 
as  far  as  cost  per  piece  is  concerned.  To  offset  this, 
however,  it  is  often  argued  that  the  accounting  features 
are  less  complicated  with  day  work  than  in  either  piece 
work  or  premium  work,  which  should  tend  to  give  a 
lower  percentage  of  general  or  indirect  expense;  and, 
further,  since  no  limit  is  fixed  as  a  minimum  output, 
the  quality  of  the  work  is  of  the  best.  Increased  output 
can  only  be  obtained  under  this  system  by  increased 
supervision. 

In  piece  work  and  in  premium  work,  the  incentive 
exists  for  a  maximum  output  ;  but  the  adherents  of  day 
work  claim  that  the  output  may  be  obtained  at  the 
expense  of  quality. 

There  is  a  tendency,   in  any  wage  system  with  an 


WHICH     WAY    TO    PAY 123 

incentive  towards  increased  production,  for  quantity 
to  be  reached  through  a  falling  off  in  quality.  But 
knowing  this,  steps  should  be  taken  to  safeguard  quality 
by  a  properly  enforced  inspection.  A  skilled  workman 
can  usually  make  an  article  right  as  easily  as  he  can 
make  it  wrong;  but  it  is  for  the  more  unskilled  among 
the  number  that  the  inspection  is  largely  required. 
No  premium  should  be  paid  on  defective  work ;  and,  to 
emphasize  this  feature,  the  inspection  should  be  so 
close  to  the  actual  operations  that  the  workman  and  his 
work  can  be  identified,  so  that  if  his  product  is  not  up  to 
the  recognized  standard,  he  will  have  to  make  it  so 
before  its  acceptance. 

'Judgment  must  be  used  as  well  in  the  selection  of 
the  system  best  suited  to  the  work;  for  a  wage  system 
may  be  brought  into  disrepute,  either  by  a  wrong  appli- 
cation, or  by  the  way  it  is  carried  out,  or  by  the  spirit 
in  which  it  is  received  by  the  workmen. 

In  piece  work,  the  workman  takes  the  entire  direct 
profits — the  amount  earned  by  a  piece  worker — over  and 
above  what  he  would  have  earned  had  he  been  paid  bjr 
the  day  or  by  the  hour.  The  employer  benefits  indi- 
rectly through  the  increased  output  obtained  in  a  given 
time  from  machines  and  floor  space ;  also,  by  a  lessening 
of  the  cost  per  piece  for  supervision,  heat,  light,  and 
other  overhead  expenses. 

The  fact  that  all  the  direct  profits  go  to  the  workman 
in  piece  work  limits  its  application  to  the  comparatively 
narrow  field  of  what  is  practically  repetition  work;  for 
the  employer,  assuming  all  of  the  risks  and  receiving 
only  the  indirect  profits,  cannot,  in  fairness  to  himself, 
be  expected  to  apply  this  system  to  classes  of  work, 
the  details  in  design  and  manufacture  of  which  have  not 
been  thoroughly  standardized  and  in  which,  accordingly, 


124 WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 

considerable  error  may  enter  in  the  setting  of  piece  work 
prices,  making  them  entirely  out  of  proportion  to  the 
value  of  the  work. 

Besides  this,  the  indirect  profits,  particularly  when 
considered  in  connection  with  individual  jobs,  some- 
times exist  only  in  theory  or  else  are  so  intangible  that 
advantage  cannot  be  taken  of  them.  It  should  also  be 
borne  in  mind,  too,  that,  regardless  of  what  wage  sys- 
tem may  be  used,  the  employer  is  compelled  to  share 
his  profits  with  the  customer  in  ever  increasing  propor- 
tions, through  a  gradual  reduction  in  the  price  of  appa- 
xatus,  as  time  goes  on. 

/COMPARISON  of  different  kinds  of  premium  and 
V^  bonus  payment  plans — Halsey,  Rowan  and  Santa  Fe 
— and  where  each  system  is  most  valuable. 

It  was  the  seeming  inability  both  of  day  and  of  piece 
work  to  meet  fully  average  requirements  that  led  to  the 
•development  of  more  elastic  systems,  systems  with  a 
broader  field  of  application,  resulting  in  what  are  now 
known  as  premium  systems;  though  there  are  already 
many  such,  it  is  not  claimed  by  anyone  that  finality  has 
yet  been  reached. 

Under  a  premium  system  the  employer,  besides  bene- 
fiting indirectly,  generally  shares  in  the  direct  profits 
with  the  workman,  the  proportion  depending  upon  the 
particular  system  in  force.  Moreover,  the  workman  is 
almost  always  guaranteed  a  day's  wage  based  upon  his 
hourly  rate,  while  this  is  seldom  the  custom  in  piece 
work. 

The  most  widely  known  of  the  premium  systems  is 
the  Halsey  system.  In  the  original  scheme,  the  time 
previously  required  to  perform  a  job  by  day  work  was 
taken  as  the  basis,  and  a  premium  offered  the  workman 


WHICH     WAY    TO    PAY 125 

equal  to  from  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  his  hourly  rate 
for  every  hour  saved. 

A  slight  modification  of  this  system  consists  in  in- 
creasing the  premium  to  one-half  the  hourly  rate  for 
every  hour  saved.  It  is  sometimes  called  the  Halsey  50 
per  cent  system. 

Under  the  Halsey  system,  as  now  generally  under- 
stood, a  certain  length  of  time,  called  a  time  limit,  is 
allowed  for  the  performance  of  each  job;  and  the  em- 
ployer agrees  that  this  time  limit  will  not  be  changed 
so  long  as  the  method  of  manufacture,  under  which  it 
was  fixed,  continues  the  same.  The  workman  is,  further,, 
usually  guaranteed  his  regular  hourly  rate  for  the 
time  spent  on  the  job ;  and  if  he  completes  it  in  less  than 
the  specified  time,  he  receives  an  additional  amount  as 
premium,  equal  to  his  hourly  rate  multiplied  by  one-half 
the  time  saved.  The  employer  and  the  workman  thus 
have  an  equal  share  in  the  direct  profits. 

Another  premium  system  is  that  known  as  the  Rowan 
system.  Under  it,  as  under  the  Halsey  system,  a  time 
limit  is  set  for  the  performance  of  each  job,  the  work- 
man receiving  his  hourly  rate  for  the  actual  time  spent 
on  it;  but,  unlike  the  Halsey  system,  wherein  the  pre- 
mium is  based  on  one-half  the  time  saved,  the  premium 
here  consists  of  a  percentage  of  the  allowed  time.  And 
when  this  has  been  said,  one  of  the  drawbacks  to  the 
system  has  also  been  mentioned,  since  it  is  not  easily 
understood  by  the  workman.  For  example,  if  the  work- 
man performs  a  job  in  25  per  cent  less  time  than  the 
time  limit,  he  receives  his  hourly  wage  for  the  actual 
time,  plus  a  premium  equal  to  25  per  cent  of  it. 

One  of  the  most  novel  premium  systems  is  the  Santa 
Fe,  in  use  on  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Railway. 

To  set  any   time   limit  intelligently,   the  theoretical 


126 WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 

minimum  time  in  which  the  work  under  consideration 
can  be  performed  must  be  known  very  closely.  This 
minimum  time  is  then  usually  augmented  to  such  an 
amount  as  will  enable  any  skilled  workman,  when  work- 
ing as  he  ought,  to  perform  the  work  regularly  within 
such  time.  The  period  of  time  thus  arrived  at  becomes 
the  base  or  standard  time  of  the  system.  If  the  work  is 
completed  either  within  or  even  in  excess  of  this  time, 
a  bonus  or  premium  is  awarded.  Figured  from  the  base 
time,  the  bonus  or  premium  increases  with  decreasing 
time  and  decreases  with  increasing  time  until  at  some 
percentage  in  excess  of  the  base  or  standard  time,  known 
as  the  time  limit,  it  disappears  entirely,  the  workman 
then  receiving  but  his  hourly  rate  for  the  time  spent 
on  the  jub. 

If  the  job  is  performed  in  exactly  the  standard  time, 
the  bonus  or  premium  amounts ,  to  twenty  per  cent  of 
the  regular  wage;  if  the  job  is  performed  in  less  than 
the  standard  time,  the  workman  receives  the  entire 
wage  the  employer  would  have  paid  had  the  work  been 
completed  in  exactly  the  standard  time;  if  the  time  re- 
quired to  perform  the  job  is  in  excess  of  the  standard 
time,  the  day  work  rate  is  still  paid,  plus  a  bonus  or 
premium,  which,  however,  decreases  rapidly  (according 
to  the  parabolic  equation)  with  increase  of  time,  until 
a  point  is  reached  where  this  excess  amounts  to  fifty  per 
cent  of  the  standard  time,  when  the  bonus  ceases. 

As  in  most  other  premium  systems,  the  workman  is 
guaranteed  his  hourly  rate.  It  is  difficult  for  the  aver- 
age workman  to  understand  the  basis  on  which  the  bonus 
or  premium  is  figured  when  the  job  is  completed  in 
excess  of  the  standard  time ;  but,  as  this  applies  to  only 
a  small  percentage  of  the  work,  the  objection  is  not  a 
serious  one. 


WHICH     WAY    TO    PAY 127 

To  compare  properly  the  several  premium  systems 
described,  it  is  necessary  to  assume  that  (a)  the  base 
or  standard  time  is  the  same,  (b)  the  day  rate  is  the 
same,  (c)  in  the  Halsey  and  the  Santa  Fe  systems,  the 
total  wage  or  the  wage  plus  the  bonus  or  premium,  is 
the  same  when  the  work  is  done  in  exactly  the  base  or 
standard  time,  (d)  a  bonus  of  twenty  per  cent  added  to 
the  wage  when  the  work  is  done  in  standard  time,  as  is 
the  rule  of  the  Santa  Fe  system,  will  in  the  Halsey 
system  correspond  to  an  incentive  of  forty  per  cent 
added  to  the  base  time  (instead  of  the  customary  fifty 
per  cent),  (e)  in  the  Rowan  system  the  time  limit  is 
the  same  as  in  the  Halsey  system. 

From  the  employer's  point  of  view,  the  Rowan  system 
is  applicable  to  classes  of  work  where,  owing  to  lack  of 
complete  data  for  estimating  the  length  of  time  required 
for  jobs,  neither  piece  work,  the  Halsey  nor  the  Santa 
Fe  system  would  be  so  suitable;  for  there  is  minimum 
danger  of  exorbitant  wages  from  inaccuracies  in  setting 
time  limits.  Criticism  has  been  made  of  this  system  that 
the  interests  of  the  employer  have  been  so  fully  con- 
served in  the  setting  of  these  limits  as  practically  to 
take  away  all  incentive  from  the  workman  to  exert  him- 
self beyond  time  and  one-half.  It  is  argued,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  Rowan's  system  gives  the  man  an  increase  of 
wage  equal  to  the  saving  effected  from  the  time  limit. 
However,  this  argument  has  not  at  present  the  same 
force,  for  if  any  premium  system  is  to  be  successful,  a 
time  limit  once  set  should  not  be  altered  so  long  as  the 
method  of  manufacture  remains  unchanged. 

The  Santa  Fe  system,  distinctly  a  premium  system, 
more  nearly  approaches  piece  work  than  either  of  the 
other  two  methods.  Practically  all  of  the  direct  profits 
go  to  the  workman,  the  employer  benefiting  only  in- 


128 WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 

directly,  as  in  piece  work,  through  a  reduction  in  the 
general  or  indirect  expense. 

The  Halsey  system  may  be  considered  as  occupying1 
a  position  intermediate  between  the  Rowan  and  Santa 
Fe  systems.  Compared  with  the  Rowan  system,  it  pays 
rather  less  for  the  same  effort  up  to  time  and  one-half; 
but  beyond  this  point,  the  condition  is  reversed  and  it 
then  pays  more.  If  the  time  limits  were  laid  out  on  a 
basis  of  the  average  workman  making  time  and  one- 
quarter,  the  Rowan  system  would  be  more  attractive 
from  the  workman's  standpoint. 

As,  however,  the  schedules  are  usually  more  liberal, 
at  least  in  this  country,  the  average  workman  making, 
say,  time  and  one-half,  while  the  more  expert  exceed 
this  considerably,  the  Halsey  system  has  the  advantage 
from  the  workman's  standpoint,  but  it  is  not  so  advan- 
tageous from  that  of  the  employer.  Compared  with  the 
Santa  Fe  system,  the  Halsey  system  pays  less  for  the 
same  effort  at  nearly  all  points,  and  for  this  reason 
would  appeal  less  favorably  to  the  workman,  but  more 
favorably  to  the  average  employer,  particularly  to  the 
one  whose  products  are  diversified,  and  the  time  limits 
on  which  are  accordingly  more  liable  to  inaccuracies 
than  when  the  products  are  fully  standardized. 

MODERN  payment  plans  devised  by  F.  W.  Taylor, 
H.  L,  Gantt  and  Harrington  Emerson  are  based  on 
the  philosophy  underlying  the  new  science  of  management. 

Philosophies  of  management  really  underlie  the  more 
modern  methods  of  wage  payment  formulated  by  F.  W. 
Taylor  and  others.  Impressed  by  the  natural  tendency 
of  the  workman  to  do  as  little  as  possible  under  the 
ordinary  day  wage,  and  equally  realizing  the  folly  of 
the  employer  to  set  a  piece  rate  and  cut  it  as  soon  as  the 


WHICH    WAY    TO    PAY 129 

workman  begins  to  make  more  than  he  thinks  he  should, 
Mr.  Taylor  made  scientific  studies  to  determine  exactly; 
what  a  normal  day's  work  for  the  ordinary  man  is.  In 
order  to  induce  men  to  accomplish  this  normal  day's 
work  he  also  devised  the  differential  piece  rate,  which 
he  described  as  follows  in  a  paper  before  the  American 
Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers: 

"This  consists  briefly  in  paying  a  higher  price  per 
piece,  or  per  unit,  or  per  job,  if  the  work  is  done  in  the 
shortest  possible  time  and  without  imperfections,  than 
is  paid  if  the  work  takes  a  longer  time  or  is  imperfectly 
done." 

Standardizing  operations,  therefore,  and  setting  an 
attractive  wage  for  the  workmen  who  accomplish  the 
operations  on  time  and  produce  perfect  goods— these 
are  the  methods  adopted  to  secure  maximum  efficiency 
in  workmen. 

For  example,  it  may  be  found  that  fifty  pieces  of  a 
certain  article  constitute  the  normal  number  which  a 
man  can  do  in  a  day  without  over-working  himself,  yet 
without  "soldiering."  The  piece  rate  may  be  set  at 
seven  cents  for  the  man  who  succeeds  in  turning  out 
fifty  perfect  pieces,  making  his  day's  pay  $3.50.  If, 
however,  he  can  not  do  the  required  amount,  but  turns 
out  only  forty-five  pieces,  the  rate  per  piece  is  somewhat 
lower,  say  six  cents,  making  his  wage  $2.70.  If  he  makes 
the  full  fifty  pieces,  but  some  of  them  are  imperfect, 
the  piece  rate  is  still  lower,  say  only  four  or  five  cents, 
making  his  day's  pay  $2  or  $2.50,  as  the  case  may  be. 

This  system,  therefore,  put  a  big  premium  on  the 
full  day's  work,  on  work  that  is  perfect,  and  guaran- 
tees high  wages  to  the  workman  who  proves  his  effi- 
ciency. The  day's  work  is  no  greater  than  a  thoroughly 
well-trained  workman  can  accomplish,  and  every  means 


130 WAGE    PAYMENT    METHODS 

is  taken  to  give  men  thorough  instruction  in  the  one 
best  way  to  do  their  work. 

The  same  scientific  planning  and  timing  of  operations 
forms  the  basis  of  the  payment  system  proposed  by 
H.  L.  Gantt  and  very  successfully  used  in  various 
plants.  In  this  method,  known  as  the  task  and  bonus 
system,  the  workman  is  given  a  task,  and  everything  is 
arranged,  tools  prepared,  and  instructions  given,  so  that 
he  may  be  able  to  accomplish  the  task  in  the  allotted 
time.  He  is  guaranteed  regular  day  wages  whether  the 
work  is  finished  on  time  or  not,  regardless  also  of 
whether  it  is  perfect  or  not. 

If,  however,  the  work  is  done  in  the  allotted  time, 
and  is  perfect,  the  workman  receives  a  large  additional 
bonus,  which  in  practice  amounts  to  about  twenty  to 
fifty  per  cent  of  his  regular  wages.  This  plan,  therefore, 
has  the  advantage  of  assuring  the  workman  of  a  fair 
day 's  wage,  even  if  he  can  not  for  any  reason  accomplish 
the  task  set  in  the  allotted  time.  "While  the  differential 
piece  rate  is  peculiarly  valuable  in  the  case  of  work 
which  is  largely  repetitive,  the  task  and  bonus  system 
can  be  used  to  advantage  where  the  work  varies  from 
piece  to  piece  or  job  to  job. 

The  " efficiency  plan"  of  Harrington  Emerson  is 
much  like  the  task  and  bonus  system,  except  that  the 
workman  begins  to  receive  some  extra  reward  even  be- 
fore he  has  accomplished  the  standard  day 's  work.  Thus, 
if  he  succeeds  in  doing  the  allotted  task,  he  .receives  a 
twenty  per  cent  bonus  over  his  guaranteed  day 's  wage ; 
but  if  he  performs  only  two-thirds  of  the  task,  he  re- 
ceives a  small  bonus,  which  increases  by  a  graduated 
scale  the  nearer  he  approaches  a  full  day's  work. 

In  all  these  systems  the  aim  is  to  secure  a  full  and 
efficient  day's  work  from  the  laborer.  He  will  not  work 


WHICH    WAY    TO    PAY 131 

to  the  extent  of  his  powers,  even  on  piece  work,  if  he 
knows  that  so  doing  will  mean  a  cutting  in  his  wages 
as  soon  as  he  has  earned  a  little  more  than  his  employer 
thinks  he  should.  The  right  wage  system,  whichever 
one  you  choose,  must  have  as  its  foundation  your  firm 
determination  to  be  absolutely  fair  to  your  employees. 
Cooperation,  not  slave-driving,  is  the  essence  of  the 
new  philosophies  of  management  which  have  introduced 
payment  methods  making  for  efficient  production. 


only  is  the  shop  pay  roll  generally  the  largest  single 
item  of  manufacturing  cost,  but  it  is  an  item  which 
varies  because  human  nature  varies.  Behind  each  precise 
total  on  the  pay  roll,  is  the  story  of  the  man's  work  on  each 
job.  And  an  analysis  of  the  pay  roll,  consequently,  is  very 
often  the  interesting  study  of  men's  motives  in  doing  work. 
Any  manager  who  hasn't  looked  back  of  the  total  in  each  pay 
envelope  not  only  has  failed  to  make  the  most  of  his  pay  roll, 
but  has  missed  an  opportunity  to  get  in  closer  touch  with  his 
workmen. 

— S.  D.  Rider 

Vlce-Pmident,  South  Bead  Watch  Company 


XV 

APPRAISING  WORK  BY 
TIME  STUDIES 

By  Frederic  G.  Coburn 
Assistant  Naval  Constructor,  U.  S.  N. 

A  LTHOUGH  the  factory  manager  untrained  in  the 
JL\  development  of  scientific  management  cannot  him- 
self apply  its  principles  to  their  full  extent,  says  F.  W. 
Taylor,  he  can  accomplish  a  great  deal  to  better  the 
conditions  of  ordinary  management. 

For  just  as  the  doctor  is  at  an  utter  loss  until  he 
makes  his  diagnosis,  so  the  manager,  in  starting  to  better 
his  management,  must  likewise  diagnose  conditions  in 
his  shop.  For  this  he  has  one  extremely  useful  instru- 
ment— the  time  study;  by  its  use  he  can  learn  his  fac- 
tory's weak  points,  see  the  method  of  attack,  and  con- 
stantly keep  himself  posted  as  he  proceeds  with  the 
development. 

In  its  full  sense,  the  time  study  involves  the  analysis 
of  a  job  into  its  constituent  operations;  the  study  of  the 
equipment  used,  and  of  the  methods  of  several  of  the 
best  men;  the  building  up  of  the  best  adjustment  of 
equipment,  and  the  best  methods  into  the  "one  best" 
method;  and,  finally,  the  careful  speeding  of  the  man 
in  this  best  method.  Thus,  the  result  of  a  time  study  is 
a  composite  of  the  best  ideas  in  use  when  the  study  is 
made,  plus  new  ideas  suggested  or  developed  in  making 
the  study;  a  close  adherence  to  any  one  man's  methods 
is,  therefore,  generally  dangerous,  for  it  is  almost  in- 


MAKING    A    TIME    STUDY 133 

variably  found  that  the  best  method  is  never  in  use. 

It  is  evident  that  to  realize  the  full  value  of  time 
study,  great  skill  and  experience  in  obtaining  best 
methods,  an  organization  of  high  character  to  apply 
them  is  needed.  But,  in  the  preliminary  work,  such 
refinement  is  unnecessary — even  inadvisable.  An  ap- 
proximate time  analysis  of  what  is  actually  going  on 
will  point  out  the  delays  and  mishaps,  indicate  the  lines 
of  general  betterment,  cause  considerable  improvement 
in  the  detail  operations  studied  and  provide  valuable 
data  for  scheduling  and  planning  work.  As  will  be  at 
once  realized,  a  first-class  time-study  man  is  a  high- 
priced  man.  But,  again,  for  this  preliminary  work,  a 
man  totally  inexperienced  in  time  study  can  be  advan- 
tageously employed;  if  he  is  carefully  trained  he  will 
be  able  to  do  the  high-class  work  when  the  time  comes. 

/CHOOSING  the  right  man  to  make  the  time  study— 
^^  how  to  analyze  operations,  record  them  graphically 
and  find  from  them  the  standard  "one  best"  way. 

For  this  detail  it  is  extremely  unwise  to  pick  an  assist- 
ant foreman,  or  other  man  employed  in  a  supervisory 
capacity,  as  such  men  are  usually  in  their  jobs  because 
they  have  shown  executive  ability,  and  such  ability 
is  not  requisite  in  a  time-study  man.  It  is  equally 
unwise  to  pick  a  man  from  the  clerical  force,  for,  unless 
he  is  a  former  mechanic,  he  cannot  understand  the  work 
he  is  studying.  The  man  detailed  for  this  work  must  be 
relieved  of  all  other  work  if  he  is  to  do  it  properly. 

A  bright  young  draftsman,  with  previous  mechanical 
training,  or  at  least  a  good  working  knowledge  of  fac- 
tory processes,  is  good  timber ;  so,  also,  is  a  well-educated 
mechanic.  A  somewhat  analytical  and  skeptical  turn  of 
mind  is  a  valuable  asset. 


134 WAGE    PAYMENT    METHODS 

Among  the  first  things  to  be  found  are  delays  due  to 
lack  of  instructions  and  drawings,  lack  of  tools  and 
material,  or  faulty  tools  or  material,  machine  mishaps 
and  belt  failures.  It  is  not  easy  to  trace  these  troubles 
without  training  in  discovering  them,  because  they  are 
so  common  that  they  cause  no  comment.  But  if  one 
particular  man  or  job  be  studied,  these  things  will  come 
to  light  and  show  the  track  to  be  followed. 

Perhaps  the  most  elementary  form  of  study  and, 
therefore,  the  best  to  begin  on,  is  this  study  of  one 
particular  man's  doings  for  the  working  day.  In  one 
instance,  such  a  study  made  of  a  drop  forger,  resulted 
in  increasing  his  efficiency  about  200  per  cent  by  simply 
eliminating  delays. 

Suppose  a  blacksmith  is  to  be  studied.  The  first  step 
is  to  set  down  what  he  does  in  a  day.  Thus,  his  time 
is  consumed  as  follows: 

Operation  Code  Letter 

Actual  forging .     .  F 

Waiting  for  heat W 

Waiting  for  hammer A 

Waiting  for  helper M 

Waiting  for  material J 

Waiting  for  instructions T 

Receiving  instruction ^ 

Mending  fire 

Fixing  tools 

Time  lost     .     .    M,  A,  J  and  T 

For  this  sort  of  study  it  is  sufficient  to  record  times 
to  the  nearest  minute.  An  excellent  way  to  record  such 
a  study  is  to  use  an  ordinary  notebook  of  cross-section 
paper,  heading  the  columns  with  letters  to  indicate  the 
element  represented  by  each  column  and  taking  each 
vertical  space  to  represent  a  minute  of  time.  Figure 


MAKING    A    TIME    STUDY 


135 


w 


w 


SAMPLE 


TIM  EL  STUDY 
CHARt 


FIGURE  XIII:  This  chart  showed  just  what  occurred  during  each  minute 
of  one  hour.  At  the  bottom  the  recapitulation  shows  such  relations  as  work 
to  time  wasted,  work  to  useless  energy,  and  points  out  unnecessary  wastes 


136 WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 

XIII  is  a  reproduction  of  such  a  sheet  for  a  portion  of 
a  day ;  it  indicates  the  method  of  scoring — running  the 
pencil  down  the  "  Forging "  column,  for  instance,  until 
the  work  goes  into  the  fire,  then  shifted  over  into  the 
"Waiting  for  Heat"  column  until  the  next  move  is 
made,  and  so  on. 

After  a  few  hours'  practice  it  will  be  found  possible 
to  study  several  men  simultaneously.  This  is  valuable, 
as  it  precludes  the  danger  of  an  ' '  exhibition  run. ' '  Real 
conditions  will  be  learned  when  there  is  no  knowing 
who  is  under  observation. 

Graphic  summaries  of  these  studies  are  the  most  strik- 
ing. They  may  easily  be  made  by  preparing  a  chart 
consisting  of  horizontal  lines  starting  from  a  common 
vertical  line  proportional  in  length  to  the  sum  of  the 
times  they  represent.  The  illustration,  Figure  XIII, 
is  summarized  for  the  period  of  time  it  covers. 

These  simple  studies  point  the  way  to  improvement  in 
the  methods  of  assigning  work  and  giving  instructions, 
providing  material  and  tools,  caring  for  machinery,  and 
so  on,  and  provide  data  for  starting  the  planning  or 
routing  work. 

The  study  of  a  particular  job  is  the  next  step.  A  rep- 
resentative job  may  be  taken,  analyzed  into  its  constit- 
uent operations,  and  followed  through  the  shop  from 
the  time  it  first  lands  on  the  floor  until  it  is  done.  This 
throws  light  on  the  general  conditions  from  a  new  angle ; 
it  tests  the  factory  arrangement,  means  of  transport, 
provision  for  inspection,  and  so  on,  and  provides  valu- 
able information  for  use  in  scheduling  the  work.  In 
applying  the  lessons  of  these  studies,  the  plant  as  a 
whole  is  speeded  up,  with  a  beneficial  resuU  to  the  work 
in  progress. 

This   method    of   study,    besides   affording    valuable 


MAKING    A    TIME    STUDY 137 

data  for  systematizing  material  transported,  arranging 
the  shop  and  scheduling  work,  will  show  where  the  first 
machine  operation  time  studies  should  be  made — the 
longest  and  most  expensive  ones  offer  the  greatest  chance 
for  saving  and  should,  therefore,  be  the  first  attacked. 

When  ready  to  take  up  the  study  of  such  a  machine 
job,  the  first  step  is  to  analyze  it  into  constituent  parts, 
or  operations.  For  this  early  work  it  is  not  necessary 
to  get  down  to  such  fine  points  as  separating  the  chuck- 
ing operations,  for  example,  into  picking  up,  setting  on 
the  table,  placing  dogs,  centering,  securing  dogs,  and  so 
on;  it  is  enough  to  deal  with  the  major  operations,  as, 
for  example,  to  chuck,  set  the  machine,  take  roughing 
cut,  take  second  cut  and  remove  work.  Troubles  enough 
will  probably  appear  to  make  further  refinement  at  this 
point  inadvisable.  Times  should  be  taken,  however,  in 
minutes  and  seconds,  using  a  stop  watch. 

For  these  studies  a  card  like  Form  I  is  useful.  The 
reverse  side  of  the  card  is  used  to  record  all  the  con- 
ditions in  the  job;  to  show  how  far  the  work  has  been 
carried,  when  the  study  began,  how  the  machine  was 
set,  speed,  feed,  cut,  kind  of  tool,  and  so  on,  and  such 
other  points  as  have  a  bearing  on  the  time  of  workman- 
ship as,  for  example,  whether  the  tool  was  water  cooled, 
oil  cooled  or  dry,  whether  belt  slipped  or  not.  On  the 
reverse  side  of  the  card  the  operations  are  set  down  in 
their  sequence. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  card  is  arranged  for  six 
studies  of  the  same  operation  under  a  single  set  of  con- 
ditions. This  helps  to  preclude  misleading  figures  due 
to  "exhibition  runs,"  insures  the  inclusion  of  delays 
between  successive  operations,  shows  the  effect  of  waste 
motions  in  varying  the  times  on  identical  operations, 
and  emphasizes  machine,  belt  and  tool  troubles. 


138 


WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 


For  purposes  of  comparison  and  further  study,  make 
similar  studies  of  the  same  operation  under  the  same 
conditions;  then,  without  going  too  deeply  into  the 
machine  study,  some  changes  can  be  made  which  will 


OPERATION 

| 

2 

3 

4 

S 

6 

A> 

• 

PIECE 
UNIT    WT                                    OBSERVED  TIME  ON  ONE 

PLAN   NO. 
DATE 

c 

0 

OPERATION 

OBSERVED 
TIME 

PER 
HOUR  AT 

DBS. 
SPEED 

PER 
HOUR 
ACTUAL 

MACH. 
NO. 

TOOLS  AND  JIGS 
USED 

E 

WIN. 

SEC. 

> 

G 

H, 

1 

K 

L 

M 

MHQ 

FORM  I  (front  card):    Card  used  in  timing  a  machine  job.    FORM  II 

(back  card) :    When  operations  have  been  studied,  this  card  is  used  to  record 

the  "one  best"  method 


improve  times.  Further  studies  and  synthesis  will  re- 
sult in  a  very  much  improved  method,  which  can  be 
built  up  and  recorded  on  a  card  similar  to  Form  II,  and 
this  new  method  adopted.  This  is  the  first  step  toward 
standard  practice ;  it  must  not,  of  course,  be  considered 
as  final — it  is  not  profitable  in  the  early  stages  of  de- 
velopment to  arrive  at  anything  final;  the  object  is  to 
advance  the  whole  plant,  step  by  step,  toward  a  maxi- 
mum efficiency. 

It  will  be  noted  that  cards  like  Forms  I  and  II  are 
helpful  in  the  second  form  of  study— that  of  studying 
the  particular  job  throughout  the  factory.  Form  I  is 
adaptable  to  the  preliminary  repetitive  study ;  Form  II 


MAKING    A    TIME     STUDY 


139 


to  the  preparation  of  the  record.  The  condensed  infor- 
mation in  Form  II  is  particularly  helpful  in  developing 
a  planning  department. 

After  having  developed  an  improved  method  for  a 
given  job,  and  passed  on  to  other  problems,  means  must 
be  provided  for  holding  up  the  standard  thus  set,  lest 
the  work  advance  on  the  plan  of  three  steps  forward  and 
backslide  two.  This  can  be  done,  when  the  planning  de- 
partment is  sufficiently  developed,  by  a  continuing  rec- 
ord similar  to  that  shown  in  Form  III,  which  is  a  com- 
bination rate  card  and  continuing  record  used  in  con- 
nection with  a  premium  plan  of  payment  in  a  shop  at 
the  Mare  Island  Navy  Yard.  All  details  of  the  op  era - 


PREVIOUS  RECORDS 


SPECIFICATION 


CONDITION  AT  START. 


IMUM   RATE 


SHOP  SUPERINTENDENT 


FORM  III  (front  and  reverse  sides  shown):     This  is  the  card  used  for 

continuous  records  to  insure  that  after  the  improved  method  has  been  found 

it  will  be  maintained 


tions,  condition  at  beginning  of  operations,  class  of  labor, 
time  allowed,  references  to  time  studies,  plans  and  a 
continuing  record  of  this  particular  operation  are  af- 
forded to  judge  of  the  accuracy  of  the  time  allowed, 


140 WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 

and  of  the  regularity  with  which  the  time  is  attained. 
When  your  time  studies  have  been  tested  and  your 
improved  methods  are  in  working  order,  you  will  be 
astonished  to  know  how  much  the  haphazard  setting  of 
tasks  has  cost  you  in  the  past  in  the  way  of  labor  not 
up  to  the  right  standard  of  efficiency. 


HPHAT  the  first-class  man  can  do  in  most  cases  from  two  to 
•*•    four  times  as  much  as  is  done  on  the  average  is  known  to 
but  few  and  is  fully  realized  by  those  only  who  have  made  a 
thorough  and  scientific  study  of  the  possibilities  of  men. 

— F.  W.  Taylor 

Author,  The  Principles  of  Scientific  Management 


XVI 


PAYING  MEN  BY  THE  DAY 


By  H.  J.  Minhinnick 
Civil  and  Electrical  Engineer 


TO  SECURE  records  of  labor  on  day-work  jobs,  to 
avoid  inevitable  mistakes  made  by  foremen  with 
time  books,  and  to  do  away  with  the  great  amount  of 
work  ordinarily  necessary  the  last  of  each  week  in  com- 
piling a  payroll — these  are  the  points  that  must  be  con- 
sidered in  devising  a  practical  timekeeping  system. 

One  concern  has  adopted  a  system  which  satisfactorily 
covers  all  these  points.  Not  only  does  it  do  away  with 
troublesome  details  in  handling  men  on  contract  jobs, 
but  it  has  also  been  adopted  in  a  number  of  factories  in 
which  the  product  is  substantially  uniform.  It  can  be 
used  in  a  factory  which  does  not  require  a  job  ticket 
system  for  getting  costs  on  work. 

As  it  is  applied  in  contracting  work,  the  jobs  to  be 
done  on  a  contract  are  divided  into  four  sections : t '  Wir- 
ing, "  "Cables,"  "Poles"  and  "Subway."  Each  of 
these  different  divisions  is  subdivided  as  far  as  neces- 
sary in  order  to  get  accurate  costs  on  jobs.  For  each 
division  a  time  ticket  is  made  similar  to  that  shown  in 
Form  I.  The  cards  for  "Wiring,"  "Cables"  and 
"Poles"  are  printed  on  different  colored  papers  so  that 
they  may  easily  be  distinguished  from  one  another.  The 
"Subway"  time  tickets  are  printed  on  a  stiff  manila 
card,  owing  to  the  use  to  which  they  are  put. 


142 WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 

"When  a  man  starts  working  for  the  company,  he  is 
assigned  a  number  and  givea  a  button  on  which  his 
number  is  stamped.  This  button  he  must  wear  continu- 
ously while  he  is  at  work.  Each  foreman  is  given  a 
punch  of  distinctive  pattern  so  that  his  punch  mark 
constitutes  his  signature.  With  this  simple  equipment 
accurate  time  records  can  be  kept. 

To  take  a  concrete  example,  John  Smith  is  hired  in 
the  "Pole"  department  at  $2.00  a  day.  He  is  given 
button  "No.  127."  He  begins  work  at  "11  a.  m.,"  and 
is  employed  in  unloading  poles  from  11  to  12  a.  m.  and 
in  shaving  poles  from  1  to  5  p.  m. 

When  the  foreman  gives  this  man  his  button  he  also 
makes  out  a  ticket  for  the  workman  similar  to  that 
shown  in  Form  I.  First,  he  enters  the  man 's  name ;  sec- 
ond, he  punches  the  rate  per  day ;  third,  he  punches  the 
hour  at  which  the  man  commences  work;  fourth,  he 
punches  out  the  number  (127)  by  which  the  man  will 
subsequently  be  identified.  At  quitting  time  he  punches 
out  one  hour  under  the  "Unloading"  subheading  and 
four  hours  under  the  "Shaving  and  Framing"  sub- 
heading. Had  John  Smith  been  continuously  engaged 
in  shaving,  the  foreman,  of  course,  would  have  punched 
out  five  hours  under  that  division  on  the  card. 

If  John  Smith  works  the  next  day,  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  the  first  three  operations  are  dispensed  with  en- 
tirely. All  that  it  is  necessary  to  do  is  to  punch  out  the 
man's  number  and  his  time. 

At  the  close  of  each  day's  work  the  foreman  is  re- 
quired to  place  all  the  tickets  for  the  crew  in  a  single 
envelope  and  turn  this  envelope  in  at  the  office.  In 
making  out  his  tickets,  if  it  is  necessary  to  work  over- 
time, provision  is  made  for  this  on  the  form;  while  if 
the  man  is  to  quit  work,  the  foreman  punches  the  pay- 


PAYING    BY    THE    DAY 


143 


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144 WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 

off  square  on  the  form.  The  data  afforded  by  the  tickets 
are  then  immediately  transferred  to  the  payrolls. 

Four  payrolls  are  ruled  out  for  each  week.  The 
headings  on  these  payrolls  are  the  same  as  those  which 
appear  on  the  tickets,  so  that  on  each  payroll  are  sum- 
marized the  forms  and  records  that  come  in  each  set  of 
tickets.  This  simplifies  the  clerical  work  on  pay-day. 

For  example,  under  John  Smith's  record  on  this  pay- 
roll, the  record  would  be  as  follows:  No.  127 — John 
Smith — on  Monday  25  cents  charged  to  unloading  poles, 
$1.00  to  shaving  and  framing ;  on  Tuesday  $2.00  charged 
to  shaving  and  framing,  and  so  on,  for  the  balance  of 
the  week.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  time  is  recorded  in 
dollars  and  cents  and  not  in  time  each  day.  Conse- 
quently, the  vertical  footings  give  the  various  costs 
charged  to,  and  the  horizontal  footings  the  amount  due 
each  man,  while  the  sum  of  the  vertical  and  the  sum  of 
the  horizontal  footings  on  each  payroll  sheet  must  be 
equal.  Incidentally,  this  proves  the  payroll.  On  pay- 
day it  is  a  very  simple  matter  to  make  the  cross  footings 
and  draw  the  checks. 

As  was  noted  in  an  earlier  paragraph,  the  "  Subway " 
ticket  is  printed  on  a  heavy  manila  stock.  While  the 
operations  are  the  same  on  this  ticket,  the  actual  work- 
ing routine  in  connection  with  it  differs  from  that  fol- 
lowed in  other  cases.  When  the  man  goes  to  work  in 
the  morning  the  ticket  is  given  him  (this  is  the  reason 
why  it  is  printed  on  heavier  stock),  and  the  workman 
keeps  it  until  he  quits.  When  he  receives  the  ticket 
it  is  perfectly  blank;  consequently,  no  time  is  lost  in 
distributing  the  cards.  Just  before  noon  the  foreman 
punches  the  man's  number  and  his  "a.  m."  time  under 
the  proper  heading  or  headings  and  returns  the  card 
to  the  workman. 


PAYING    BY    THE    DAY 145 

Just  before  quitting  the  foreman  repeats  the  operation 
for  the  "p.  m."  time  and  retains  the  cards.  In  this 
way  the  workman  practically  keeps  his  own  time,  while 
the  foreman  has  an  opportunity  to  check  the  record. 
In  actual  practice  it  has  proved  that  the  workman  is 
very  careful  to  see  that  there  are  no  mistakes  made 
in  his  timekeeping.  He  makes  sure  that  he  gets  a  time 
ticket  when  he  starts  on  the  work  and  that  the  foreman 
punches  his  time  on  it  correctly. 

It  is  this  " Subway"  card  which  is  applicable  in  in- 
dustrial plants  and  which,  with  proper  modification  of 
headings,  can  be  adopted  in  almost  any  manufacturing 
or  contracting  business.  In  our  contracting  business 
the  cost  data  which  appear  on  the  payrolls  are  trans- 
ferred to  the  cost  ledger,  which  thus  shows  week  by 
week  the  exact  labor  cost  of  every  detail. 


T^HE  organizing  executive  must  have  a  knowledge  of  men 
*•  exactly  as  the  mechanical  engineer  must  have  a  knowledge 
of  materials  and  mechanics.  The  right  men  must  be  selected, 
trained  and  fitted  into  their  proper  places  in  this  vast  indus- 
trial machine,  and  these  men  must  have  in  their  make-up  a 
harmonious  blending  of  science,  practice,  and,  in  addition, 
commercial  efficiency. 

— James  Logan 

Chairman  Executive  Board,  United  States  Envelope  Company 


XVII 
PAYING  MEN  BY  THE  PIECE 

By  J.  Eddy  Chace 

PIECE  rates  set  in  the  old  way  are  founded  on  an 
unknown  quantity  at  the  very  start.  As  a  result, 
it  is  a  common  thing  for  a  man  to  say:  "Yes,  we  do 
piece  work  and  I  make  from  four  dollars  to  five  dollars 
a  day  and  sometimes  I  have  three  or  four  days'  work 
stored  away  out  of  sight  under  the  bench  that  I  keep  for 
rainy  days,  when  I  turn  it  in  a  little  at  a  time.  It's  a 
snap,  and  I  could  make  seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents  a 
day  if  I  wanted  to,  but,  of  course,  I  don't  want  the 
price  cut  down,  so  I  have  to  go  easy." 

This  is  one  of  the  conditions  which  the  scientific  study 
of  piece  rates  meets  successfully.  For,  outside  of  the 
apparently  liberal  reward,  the  chances  are  much  against 
such  conditions  existing  under  the  scientific  method, 
which  requires  an  accurate  time  study,  the  determina- 
tion of  a  large  daily  task  to  be  completed  by  a  first-class 
man  under  standard  conditions,  for  a  large  reward  in 
case  of  success  and  a  loss  in  case  of  failure. 

Setting  rates  which  bring  such  results  seems  to  many, 
perhaps,  to  be  too  much  like  the  ideal,  and  surely  more 
expensive  than  they  are  worth.  But  it  is  being  proved 
in  several  factories  today  that  this  ideal  is  practicable, 
and  that  the  best  permanent  results  can  and  are  being 
obtained  by  scientific  study  of  work. 


PAYING    BY    THE    PIECE 147 

The  work  that  goes  with  the  introduction  of  new 
wage  systems  is  something  everyone  doesn't  wish  to 
undertake,  but  it  is  an  interesting  task,  nevertheless. 
The  study  of  human  nature  is  the  big  factor,  and  you 
can  never  tell  just  what  the  workman  will  do  or  say 
for  or  against  any  new  plan  affecting  him  personally. 
The  management,  of  course,  can  see  the  advantage  of 
reduced  costs,  the  investigator  knows  that  in  the  end 
the  workman  and  his  employer  are  both  to  benefit,  but 
to  persuade  a  man  to  change  his  way  of  doing  things  is 
a  problem  that  surely  calls  for  a  knowledge  that  isn't 
to  be  gained  by  a  study  of  books  or  articles. 

\ 

HOW  to  find  the  standard  way  of  performing  each  oper- 
ation— training  the  workman  to  follow  it,  and  setting 
the  piece  rate  which  is  equitable. 

Yet,  the  actual  experiences  in  this  factory  may  prove 
of  value  and  of  interest  in  pointing  out  some  of  the 
steps  necessary  when  the  average  manager  undertakes 
to  introduce  scientific  methods  of  setting  piece  rates. 
Time  and  money  must  be  spent  in  studying  all  the  con- 
ditions affecting  machines  and  men,  many  details  worked 
out  before  time  studies  are  made. 

The  difficult  and  vital  part  of  such  a  plan  is  the 
selection  of  the  workman  whose  output  is  to  be  studied 
and  taken  as  a  basis  for  a  daily  task.  So  much  of  the 
later  result  depends  upon  this  choice  that  you  must 
make  it  a  point  to  study  and  to  talk  to  a  number  of  the 
best  men  employed  in  one  class  of  work,  finding  out 
their  ability  and  attitude  toward  the  proposed  changes 
before  attempting  to  select  a  man  to  do  the  work,  and 
then  find  yourself  dissatisfied  with  the  results,  and  have 
to  try  some  other  until  the  standard  can  be  fixed  cor- 
rectly. 


148 WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 

A  great  many  times  it  is  impossible  to  locate  a  man 
whom  you  feel  sure  can  do  the  work  in  the  best  way. 
This  necessitates  the  training  of  some  one  by  the  in- 
vestigator. Oftentimes  it  is  best  to  learn  to  do  the  work 
yourself ;  and  then,  having  mastered  the  operations  and 
reduced  the  motions  called  for  to  the  least  number  pos- 
sible, have  the  workman  watch  you.  He  will  soon  better 
his  old  schedule. 

Having  selected  the  operator  and  some  part  that  is 
to  be  put  upon  piece  work,  at  the  very  outset  make  a 
study  of  the  condition  under  which  the  work  is  being 
carried  through  on  the  old  methods.  On  entering  the 
department,  perhaps,  ask  your  man  what  he  is  working 
on  and  remark  that  you  have  been  waiting  for  that 
order  to  come  along,  so  you  could  see  just  what  could 
be  done  with  it.  Watch  him  do  the  work  in  his  usual 
way  and  make  no  secret  of  the  fact  that  you  want  to 
find  out  all  there  is  to  be  known  about  the  different 
operations.  Talk  over  the  work  with  him,  find  out  just 
•how  accurately  he  finishes  the  piece  and  if  the  castings 
vary  from  time  to  time. 

Then  examine  the  jigs  or  appliances  used  to  hold  the 
work,  and  if  there  is  any  new  machine  more  suited  to 
the  work,  or  any  improvement  possible,  talk  the  matter 
over  with  the  foreman  in  charge,  and  then  proceed  with 
the  proposed  changes. 

Satisfied  that  the  part  is  being  handled  properly  as 
far  as  tools  are  concerned,  make  a  study  of  the  tool 
speed  to  determine  the  revolutions  and  feed  at  which 
the  different  tools  act.  If  these  can  be  changed  to 
advantage,  try  it  out.  Oftentimes  it  is  necessary  to  go 
back  to  the  old  speed,  but  at  other  times  a  big  saving 
can  be  accomplished. 

In  one  case,  where  a  great  number  of  small  cast  iron 


PAYING    BY    THE    PIECE 149 

gears  were  being  bored  out,  the  drill  was  formerly 
operated  at  two  hundred  and  seven  revolutions  per 
minute,  a  speed  adapted  to  the  ordinary  carbon  drill 
rather  than  to  the  expensive  high-speed  drill  in  use. 
When  this  speed  was  increased  to  three  hundred  and 
seventy  revolutions  per  minute  the  workman  almost 
refused  to  do  the  work,  saying  that  the  drill  would  turn 
blue  in  two  minutes.  A  number  of  months  have  gone 
by  and  the  workman,  now  on  piece  work,  is  boring  those 
same  gears  at  a  big  reduction  in  cost. 

When  the  tools  are  as  near  standard  as  possible  under 
existing  conditions,  return  to  the  workman,  suggesting 
to  him  that  he  get  his  material  close  at  hand  so  that 
he  won't  need  to  reach  in  any  direction  further  than  is 
absolutely  necessary.  Pieces  formerly  thrown  or  laid 
here  and  there  are  put  upon  a  table,  a  half  dozen  at  a 
time,  instead  of  being  reached  for,  one  at  a  time.  Thig 
saves  time  and  effort  which,  if  applied  in  a  different 
direction,  helps  to  get  out  a  few  more  pieces  in  a  day. 

In  all  of  this  time  study,  it  is  a  good  policy  to  im- 
press the  workman  with  the  fact  that  you  are  getting 
the  work  thoroughly  in  hand,  so  that  he  can  make  extra 
wages  easily  and  surely.  He  must  be  made  to  see  the 
"1  vantage  to  himself  in  following  instructions. 

With  your  data  at  hand,  it  is  easy  to  figure  the  day's 
work  and  the  price  that  must  be  paid.  With  different 
classes  of  work  the  extra  amount  necessary  to  induce 
men  to  do  more  may  vary  from  twenty-five  to  one  hun- 
dred per  cent.  One  class  of  help  is  satisfied  with  twenty- 
five  to  thirty-five  per  cent  increase,  so  that  an  addition 
to  the  day  wage  of  this  amount  can  be  taken  as  the 
new  wage.  Having  the  time  allowed  for  a  certain  piece, 
as  ten  hours  for  four  hundred  pieces,  and  a  day  wage 
of  twenty-five  cents  per  hour,  the  piece  price  per  one 


150 WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 

hundred  can  be  determined  by  adding,  say  twenty-five 
per  cent  to  the  day  wage,  which  would  make  three  dol- 
lars and  twelve  cents,  and  dividing  this  by  four  to  ob- 
tain seventy-eight  cents  per  one  hundred  as  the  price  to 
be  paid. 

The  standard  in  this  case  is  forty  pieces  per  hour, 
and  the  workman  knows  that  he  is  expected  to  do  this 
amount.  If  it  is  possible  for  him  to  do  more  than  this, 
he  gains  in  proportion,  but  for  a  continuous  thing  the 
task  set  should  be  all  that  is  required. 

For  the  reason  that  during  short  periods  of  time 
almost  anyone  can  do  a  greater  amount  of  work  than 
usual,  it  is  often  necessary  to  ask  the  operator  not  to 
overdo  himself.  Many  times  it  is  said  that  piece  work 
is  too  much  for  the  workman's  health.  Under  some  con- 
ditions this  is  no  doubt  true,  but  the  real  aim  is  to  have 
the  operator  work  steadily,  not  at  the  pace  that  kills, 
and  make  every  move  count  for  something  accomplished. 
If  he  will  do  this  there  is  no  occasion  for  complaint.  He 
seldom  falls  below  the  requirements. 


T_JIGHER  wages  mean  reduced  costs  only  when  'production 
•*•*•  is  increased  more  than  enough  to  cover  the  increased  cost. 
As  a  rule,  every  workman  is  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to 
enlarge  his  income,  and  will  almost  invariably  do  more  work 
for  an  increase  in  pay.  Not  only  will  he  do  more  work  under 
the  efficiency  plan,  but  he  will  do  it  better  and  easier  than  when 
he  was  left  to  teach  himself. 

— F.  M.  Fell— 


XVIII 

PREMIUM  AND  BONUS 
SYSTEMS 

By  W.  Poole  Dryer 
Managing  Director,  The  W.  Poole  Dryer  Company 

IN  EVERY  factory  there  are  certain  jobs  which  sooner 
or  later  the  manager  considers  putting  on  a  piece- 
work basis.  Under  the  ordinary  time-payment  plan  all 
the  proceeds  of  the  workmen's  labor  above  the  amount 
gained  by  the  man  who  simply  "holds  down  his  job" 
go  to  the  employer.  The  day-work  method  of  paying 
men  is  defective  because  it  does  not  penalize  indiffer- 
ence. 

Piece  work,  on  the  other  hand,  often  fails  to  produce 
maximum  output,  for  two  reasons.  The  employer  fixes 
the  limit  with  the  possible  total  wage,  or  more  generally 
establishes  a  bad  precedent  by  cutting  the  piece  rate 
when  he  thinks  the  workman  is  earning  too  much. 
Piece  work,  therefore,  is  ever  watched  suspiciously  by 
the  workman  and  is  a  frequent  source  of  strife  between 
employer  and  employee. 

Piece  work  certainly  allows  a  man  to  gain  something 
in  personal  efficiency  and  allows  the  employer  to  know 
definitely  the  labor  cost  per  piece.  But  because  of  the 
abuses  to  which  it  is  open,  men  in  general  take  good 
care  not  to  "spoil  the  job"  by  doing  more  than  what 
the  short-sighted  management  has  fixed  as  their  maxi- 
mum output.  Piece-work  wages  are  attractive  to  the 
average  factory  manager  because  of  their  simplicity. 


152 WAGE    PAYMENT    METHODS 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  count  the  number  of  perfect 
pieces  a  man  has  made  and  multiply  this  figure  by  the 
price  per  piece  agreed  upon  and  so  compute  the  weekly 
wage  of  the  workman.  If  a  piece-work  system  is  care- 
fully arranged — if  prices  are  established  after  a  long 
experience  with  the  article  to  be  manufactured — if 
there  is  an  honest  endeavor  to  give  the  workman  his  fair 
share  of  the  benefits,  the  piece-work  system  can  be  put 
into  effect  with  little  friction. 

But  because  of  the  disadvantages  of  both  the  wage 
and  piece-work  systems,  the  management  of  an  auto- 
mobile concern  applied  a  premium  system  to  their  fac- 
tory. 

HOW  a  British  concern  applied  a  premium  system 
of  wage  payment  with  the  result  of  increasing  out- 
put and  the  individual  employee's  wages  at  the  same  time. 

The  principle  of  the  plan  is  simple.  Suppose  that  the 
average  man  can  complete  a  certain  piece  of  work  under 
average  conditions  in  one  hundred  hours.  This  is  taken 
to  be  the  standard  time  for  the  job.  If  the  workman 
succeeds  in  turning  out  a  piece  in  eighty  hours  he  re- 
ceives payment  for  the  eighty  hours  at  his  ordinary 
rate  and  is  given  in  addition  a  premium  equal  to  20/100 
of  his  hourly  rate  for  the  time  worked.  Thus,  if  a 
man's  rate  was  fixed  at  thirty  cents  an  hour,  his  pay  for 
the  eighty-hour  job  would  be  (80x30)  +  80  (2%00x30) 
=  $28.80. 

Suppose  the  conditions  to  remain  the  same :  if  a  man 
had  been  turning  out  that  piece  of  work  in  one  hun- 
dred hours  on  the  day-work  basis  he  would  receive 
100x30  =  $30.00  for  the  work.  On  the  premium  basis 
he  receives  $28.80;  consequently,  the  cost  of  that  work 
to  the  employer  is  $1.20  less.  The  time  taken  is  re- 


PREMIUM     SYSTEMS 


153 


duced  one-fifth  and  the  workman,  consequently,  will 
turn  out  more  in  a  given  time  and  so  increase  his  total 
wages  per  week. 

The  firm,  of  course,  gets  also  greater  output  of  work 
at  proportionately  less  overhead  expense  for  each  job. 
Even  if  the  time  estimates  were  so  great  that  a  man 
could  complete  a  job  in  one-half  the  time  estimated,  say 
in  fifty  hours,  his  total  wages  would  be  less  than  double 
time. 

The  management  of  this  factory,  however,  agreed  that 
unless  new  machinery  or  new  methods  were  introduced 


OROI- 
NARY 
OATC      TIME 

OVER 
TIME 

ORDI- 
NARY 
DATE      TIME 

OVER- 
TIME     DATE 

OROI 
NARY 
TIME 

OVER- 
TIME 

DATE 

ORDI- 
NARY    OVER- 
TIME     TIME 

T. 

PREMIUM  CARD                                       1  DATE  OF  ISSUE 

F. 

ORDER  NO. 

MAN'S  NO. 

^00 

COMMENCED 

TIME  ALLOWED 

NATE 

30 

?v/6 

M. 

ITEM  NO. 

76 

TOOL  NO. 

FINISHED 

TIME  TAKEN 

TOTAL  WAGES 

T. 

CHECKED  BY 

NO.  OF  PIECES 
«3<7 

DATE  OF  PASSING 

TIME  SAVED 

TOTAL  PREMIUMS 

W. 

tv 

NAME 

INSTRUCTIONS. 

A&. 

PAID  OATC 

THIS  CARD  IS  TO  BE  FINALLY  HANDED  INTO  THE  OFFICE  WHEN  THEOPERATION  SPECIFIED 
'THEREON  HAS  BEEN  CHECKED  AND  PASSED.  REMARKS  AND  CALCULATIONS  MAY  BE  MADE 
ON  THE  BACK 

FORMS  I  and  II:    Here  are  shown  the  front  and  reverse  sides  of  the 

time  card  used  for  assembling  by  order  number  the  labor  cost  under  the 

premium  plan 

the  time  once  set  would  never  be  changed.  Consequently 
the  men  work  with  the  assurance  that  they  will  be  al- 
lowed to  earn  as  much  as  they  can.  Moreover,  their 
weekly  wages  are  assured  and  no  debt  is  run  up  against 
them. 


154 WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 

Before  the  system  was  installed  other  factory  systems 
were  studied. 

In  one  factory  where  the  premium  plan  was  applied, 
careful  records  showed  that  the  premiums  paid  had  a 
tendency  to  increase.  In  fact,  the  proportion  of  the 
premium  to  the  normal  wages  was  looked  upon  as  a  test 
of  the  efficiency  of  the  works  and  individual  workmen. 
The  ratio  of  premiums  to  wages  paid  to  men  working  on 
the  system  one  year  averaged  nine  and  five-tenths  per 
cent;  the  next  year  it  had  risen  to  fourteen  per  cent; 
the  third  year  to  twenty-one  per  cent,  while  in  the 
fourth,  a  year  in  which  much  overtime  was  required, 
it  fell  nineteen  per  cent.  From  the  beginning  of  the 
installation  of  the  premium  system  in  this  plant  men  on 
premium  work  have  earned  an  average  of  sixteen  per 
cent  more  than  their  hourly  rate. 

No  attempt  was  made  to  introduce  the  system  into 
the  automobile  plant  bodily.  Instead,  a  few  jobs  were 
first  chosen,  and  gradually  one  job  after  another  was 
put  on  the  premium  basis.  The  method  of  computing 
the  time  of  assembling  is  showa  in  Forms  I  and  II. 

A  machinist  is  given  half  a  day  to  bore  cylinders  and 
told  that  the  premium  time  is  four  hours  per  cylinder. 
"When  the  work  is  given  out  a  boy  in  charge  fills  out  the 
card  for  the  work,  on  which  is  stated  the  time  at  which 
the  work  commenced. 

No  inconvenience  is  caused  by  having  to  lay  aside  the 
work  for  other  more  pressing,  for  the  time  spent  each 
day  on  this  operation,  "Boring  Cylinders,"  is  re- 
corded on  the  calendar  on  the  obverse  side  of  the  pre- 
mium card. 

Every  morning  the  cards  representing  finished  oper- 
ations are  turned  over  to  the  premium  clerks  in  the 
timekeeping  department  who  check  the  total  time  on 


PREMIUM    SYSTEMS 155 

each  man's  premium  card  with  the  time  punched  on  the 
clock  cards. 

The  cards  are  then  passed  on  to  the  cost-keeping  de- 
partment where  the  details  are  entered  on  "comparison 
cards/'  which  record  the  time  spent  on  each  operation 
of  each  piece  of  work.  The  cards  representing  un- 
finished work  are  returned  to  the  factory  until  the  par- 
ticular jobs  are  completed. 

When  filling  out  these  comparison  cards,  the  clerk 
lays  aside  for  investigation  all  premium  cards  showing 
excessive  time  periods.  By  this  means  a  check  is  put 
on  inefficient  methods  of  manufacture  and  also  on  the 
delinquencies  of  the  workmen.  In  order  that  these 
leaks  may  be  properly  located,  it  is  essential  that  the 
cost  department  pass  the  premium  cards  the  day  after 
the  completion  of  manufacture  of  each  item.  Otherwise 
the  foremen  and  workmen  cannot  be  expected  to  recall 
the  details  experienced  in  the  production. 

The  premium  cards  are  then  returned  to  the  time- 
keeping department,  where,  at  the  end  of  the  week,  the 
total  premiums  for  each  man  are  added.  On  account  of 
the  time  involved  in  checking  and  investigating  the  pre- 
mium time  periods,  the  workman  usually  does  not  re- 
ceive the  premium  until  the  week  after  he  has  earned  it. 
Then  it  is  paid  along  with  his  regular  time  wage  in  the 
usual  way. 

Systematic  throughout,  this  company  carries  out  the 
payment  of  the  men  on  Saturday  in  a  business-like  man- 
ner. Instead  of  merely  putting  the  man's  pay  in  the 
envelope,  and  making  his  guess  how  much  is  bonus  and 
how  much  straight  time  wage,  an  explanatory  slip  is 
enclosed  along  with  the  money.  An  adding  machine  is 
used  to  make  up  the  weekly  payroll.  After  getting  the 
total  weekly  cost  of  labor,  the  strip  from  the  machine  is 


156 WAGE  PAYMENT  METHODS 

cut  into  slips  and  these  are  put  in  the  men's  envelopes. 

As  in  all  piece-work  and  premium  plans,  a  vigorous 
method  of  inspection  of  finished  work  is  a  necessary 
adjunct.  The  workman  has  a  tendency  to  increase  out- 
put at  the  expense  of  quality.  "  Scamp  ing "  is  effec- 
tively eliminated  by  testing  all  work  by  "  go-in,  no  go- 
in"  gauges. 

As  an  attempt  to  extract  the  maximum  return  out  of 
capital  invested  in  machine  tools,  the  premium  system 
in  this  factory  has  proved  an  economic  success,  in- 
creasing the  earnings  of  both  employer  and  workmen. 


IV/f ONEY  spent  in  properly  studying  processes  and  train- 
ing  workmen  brings  a  return  far  in  excess  of  any  other 
investment,  for  not  only  is  the  wage  cost  per  piece  often  cut  in 
half  and  the  output  doubled,  but  the  increased  output  is  often 
had  with  practically  no  permanent  increase  of  "overhead 
expense" 

— H.  L.  Gantt 

Consulting;  Engineer 


PART  IV-GETTING  OUT 
THE  PRODUCT 

Keeping  up  with  Demand 

nnO  serve  the  public  means  much  more  in  the 

•    public   mind  than   it  did  a  few  years  ago. 

Continued  success  in  manufacturing  and  selling 

comes  from  simply  this — successful  public  service. 

In  many  lines  of  manufacture  it  is  necessary  to 
order  materials  far  ahead  of  the  consummation 
of  the  sale  of  those  materials  in  the  finished  pro- 
duct. The  dealer  is  close  to  the  public.  His 
customers  have  confidence  in  him.  It  is  the 
dealer  who  first  senses  a  growing  public  demand 
and  charts  its  course. 

The  dealer,  then,  is  the  connecting  link  between 
the  manufacturer  and  the  consumer.  Upon  the 
dealer  rests  the  responsibility  not  only  of  serving 
the  public  today,  but  of  anticipating  the  public 
demand  of  tomorrow  so  that  it  can  be  met  square- 
ly through  complete  cooperation  with  the  manu- 
facturer. 

Absolute  confidence  is,  therefore,  necessary  be- 
tween the  manufacturer  and  the  dealer.  The 
manufacturer  can  not  sell  service  without  the 
thorough  cooperation  of  the  dealer  and  that  co- 
operation can  not  be  maintained  without  contin- 
uous fair  treatment  of  the  dealer  and — through 
him — of  the  consumer.  Commerce  today,  instead 
of  following  the  harsh  rule  of  "let  the  buyer  be- 
ware," follows  the  Golden  Rule:  generally  ac- 
cepted, and  better  known,  as  the  Square  Deal. 


WALTER  DAVIDSON 

President  and  General  Manager,  Harley- Davidson 
Motor  Company 


XIX 

PLANNING  AN  ORDER 
SYSTEM 

By  Fred  Biszants 
Formerly  Superintendent,  The  Gramm  Motor  Truck  Company 

TWO  classes  of  manufacturing  orders  are  issued  to 
our  factory — production  orders  for  stock,  and 
orders  to  assemble.  These  orders  are  issued  on  a 
schedule  basis  determined  by  the  management.  A  quota 
for  each  month,  three  months  in  advance,  is  set  for  each 
model.  This  quota  is  based  on  information  from  the 
sales  department  which  sends  to  the  production  depart- 
ment not  only  a  list  of  advance  requirements,  but  com- 
plete specifications  of  those  requirements  and  the  ship- 
ping dates.  The  production  system  is  designed  to  in- 
sure the  fulfillment  of  the  schedule  dates  and  quan- 
tities. 

Production  orders  for  stock  to  be  made,  and  for  parts 
to  be  bought  to  "stock-up"  in  order  to  meet  the  schedule 
requirements,  are  issued  by  the  stock  department.  This 
department  issues  for  this  purpose  production  orders 
and  purchase  orders. 

Production  orders  (Form  I)  are  printed  in  quad- 
ruplicate, the  first  three  on  white,  yellow  and  pink 
paper,  the  fourth,  which  eventually  becomes  the  fore- 
man's work  record,  on  cardboard. 

The  first  and  fourth  copies,  the  white  and  the  card- 
board, are  sent  from  the  stock  office  to  the  planning  de- 
partment. The  second,  or  yellow  copy,  goes  to  the  cost 


160 PRODUCTION    METHODS      

department  after  the  data  thereon  has  been  entered  in 
the  permanent  records  of  the  stock  office.  The  third  or 
pink  copy  is  forwarded  to  the  production  department. 
After  the  planning  department  has  completed  its 
work  with  the  white  and  cardboard  copies,  they  are  sent 
to  the  office  of  the  general  foreman  of  the  department 
concerned,  together  with  the  route  or  schedule  card  as 
described  below.  The  cardboard  record  is  placed  on  file 
in  the  office  of  the  foreman  for  record.  The  white  copy, 
together  with  the  route  or  schedule  card  mentioned,  is 
sent  to  the  rough  stock  room  and  acts  as  a  requisition  for 
the  raw  material  which  is  required  for  the  order.  As 
soon  as  the  material  specified  is  delivered  to  the  depart- 
ment requiring  it,  this  white  copy  is  returned  to  the 
stock  office  and  a  record  made  of  the  material  charged 
against  the  order. 

PLANNING  department  routine  which  increases  the 
speed  of  handling  work  in  one  concern  and  insures 
the  customer  of  prompt  delivery  on  every  order. 

The  planning  department  routes  and  schedules  all 
orders  through  the  factory.  This  department  specifies 
upon  a  route  and  schedule  card  all  the  -different  oper- 
ations which  are  to  be  performed  upon  the  order,  and 
specifies,  as  well,  what  machine  and  what  special  tools 
are  to  be  used.  The  time  limit  for  the  operation  and 
the  premium  time,  if  any,  is  stated.  The  planning  de- 
partment has  charge  of  all  demonstrations  and  all  tool 
equipment  throughout  the  factory.  With  the  route  and 
schedule  card  is  also  issued  an  identification  card. 

A  foreman's  order  (Form  II),  sent  to  the  sub-fore- 
man of  each  department  where  an  operation  is  to  be 
performed  upon  the  particular  order  in  question,  is  also 
made  out  at  the  same  time. 


PLANNING     AN    ORDER    SYSTEM  161 

The  sub-foreman's  order  gives  the  order  number,  the 
number  of  parts  and  the  routing.  The  identification 
card  is  attached  to  the  schedule  card  and  is  intended 
for  the  use  of  the  inspectors,  and,  in  fact,  every  one  who 
has  anything  to  do  with  the  parts.  After  each  operation 


PARTS  PRODUCTION  ORDER 

CUR.STK «*^  .ran  HCP. 


STOCK  REQUISITION 

REQUIRED. 


DELIVERED. 


SUB.  REG.  NO oeuvcneo. 


STOCKKEEPER 


.RECORD 

o*re  coMPirreo PIECE*  TO  STOCK PIECES  TO  SC«AP_ 


FORM  I:     A  production  order  like  this  is  made  out  in  quadruplicate  by 
the  stock  room  when  finished  parts  run  low 

has  been  performed,  the  inspector  enters  on  this  card 
the  name  of  the  next  department  to  which  the  work  is 
routed,  together  with  the  number  of  parts  which  have 
passed  inspection  after  the  previous  operation. 

When  the  production  department  receives  its  copy  of 
the  production  order,  a  tracer  card  (Form  III)  is  filled 
out  and  filed  numerically  according  to  the  part  number. 
The  information  regarding  the  progress  of  the  work 
through  the  factory,  which  is  placed  upon  this  tracer 
card,  comes  from  three  different  sources.  After  copies 
one  and  four  of  the  order  have  been  delivered,  together 
with  the  route  and  schedule  card,  and  the  material  has 
been  received,  the  sub-foreman  is  very  careful  to  see  that 


162 PRODUCTION    METHODS 

the  parts  are  machined  in  the  time  and  manner  specified 
on  the  schedule  and  routing  cards.  When  an  operator 
receives  the  route  and  schedule  card,  he  reports  to  the 
time-computing  clock  station  in  his  department  and 
presents  the  card  to  the  boy  in  charge. 

This  boy  makes  out  a  record  known  as  a  job  ticket 
which  shows  the  part  number,  the  order  number,  the 
man's  clock  number,  and  the  operation  to  be  performed, 
and  immediately  rings  in  the  starting  time  of  the  man 
for  that  particular  job.  This  card  is  kept  on  file  at  the 
clock  station.  When  the  man  has  completed  the  opera- 
tion on  the  entire  number  of  pieces  called  for,  he  again 
reports  to  the  clock  station  and  his  time  of  finishing  the 
operation  is  punched  upon  the  clock  card.  The  clock 
card  for  each  particular  job  is  retained  at  the  clock 
station  until  the  work  has  been  examined  by  the  in- 
spector, and  the  number  of  good  and  spoiled  parts  is 
entered  thereon.  The  card  is  next  sent  to  the  produc- 
tion department  for  entry  on  the  tracer  card  mentioned 
before,  after  which  entry  the  card  is  sent  to  the  cost 
office  for  recording. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  each  operation,  the  inspector 
examines  the  various  parts  and  punches  the  route  and 
schedule  cards  opposite  the  previous  operation  number, 
and  also  makes  his  entry  on  the  attached  identification 
card.  He  thus  specifies  the  number  of  good  parts,  and 
in  this  manner  gives  the  production  department  full 
information  concerning  the  complete  order.  The  pro- 
duction department  is  responsible  for  the  upholding  of 
the  order  schedule  and  makes  a  report  of  any  delinquen- 
cies. From  the  tracer  card  this  department  can  at  any 
time  determine  the  exact  condition  of  any  order. 

This  completes  the  handling  of  the  production  orders 
for  stock.  By  means  of  the  system  there  is  available  a 


PLANNING    AN    ORDER    SYSTEM 


163 


supply  of  parts  for  assembling  cars  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  sales  department.  The  second  class  of 
orders — the  assembly  orders— are  based  on  orders  from 
the  sales  department  three  weeks  in  advance  of  require- 
ments. When  the  production  department  has  this  in- 


OATCCOMPIITKO. 


NO    NO   °*«  0000 


0000  HCMCH  ICHO 


FORM  II  (back  card):    Foreman's  order,  which  explains  operations  in 
detail.    FORM  III  (front  card):     The  production  department's  tracer 
card,  used  in  following  orders  through  the  plant 

formation,  it  issues  complete  assembly  specifications  to 
the  assembly  department.  In  the  assembly  floor,  it  is 
given  a  sales  order  number  by  the  production  depart- 
ment. Requisitions  are  issued  on  the  finished  stock 
room  for  complete  parts  for  this  frame,  and  these  parts 
are  delivered  from  the  stock  room  in  a  special  truck  de- 
signed to  hold  all  the  parts  required  for  a  single  ma- 


164 PRODUCTION     METHODS 

chine.  The  frames  are  numbered  consecutively  by  the 
frame  department  and  are  delivered  according  to  their 
number. 

After  the  trucks  have  been  finished  on  the  assembly 
floor,  they  are  passed  to  the  final  inspector,  who,  if  the 
trucks  are  satisfactory,  turns  them  over  to  the  test  de- 
partment, and  a  very  thorough  test  is  then  given  them. 
If  any  defects  materialize,  corrections  are  made  and  the 
truck  is  tested  until  the  inspector  is  satisfied  that  it  is 
correct. 

The  finished  stock  department  furnishes  a  shortage 
list  to  the  planning  and  production  departments  three 
weeks  in  advance  of  requirements,  and  with  this  list  as 
a  guide,  the  planning  department  is  enabled  to  properly 
schedule  the  work.  No  order  is  issued  for  which  there 
is  not  sufficient  material  in  the  stock  room  to  completely 
fill  the  order.  Both  the  finished  stock  and  the  rough 
stock  departments  furnish  a  daily  report  of  all  parts  that 
are  received  into  the  stock  room. 

This  system  enables  us  to  fill  orders  promptly  as  they 
come  in,  and  the  speedy  deliveries  we  are  able  to  offer 
is  a  big  factor  in  building  business, 


ITNOWLEDGE  of  the  condition  of  the  manufacturing  de- 
"•  partment;  its  percentage  of  uncompleted  work,  the  con- 
dition of  this  work  and  the  factory's  capacity  for  further 
orders,  has  a  financial  value.  The  cost  of  production  has 
been  shown  to  be  lowered  after  shops  have  instituted  a  well- 
managed  production  department. 

— Hugo  Diemer 

Professor  of  Industrial  Engineering,  Peansylvania  State  College 


XX 

STOCK  ROOM  METHODS  THAT 
MEET  PRODUCTION  NEEDS 

By  W.  Poole  Dryer 
Managing  Director,  The  W.  Poole  Dryer  Company 

ALL  THINGS  being  equal,  the  factory  which  is  in  a 
position  to  make  the  quickest  deliveries  or  furnish 
promises  that  are  the  shortest  and  which  are  absolutely 
adhered  to,  will  soon  single  itself  out  from  other  con- 
cerns. Our  company  realizes  this  fact.  We  have  made  a 
careful  study  of  conditions  necessary  to  obtain  such 
results  and  with  this  in  view,  revised  and  changed  our 
methods  and  organization  so  as  to  be  able  to  furnish 
prompt  service. 

Controlling  devices  are  usually  of  secondary  impor- 
tance in  electrical  installations  and  so  the  ordering  of 
this  material  is  often  neglected  until  the  last  minute, 
usually  until  some  time  after  the  motors  and  other  equip- 
ment of  the  plant  have  been  contracted  for,  with  the 
result  that  a  large  number  of  orders  are  placed  by  cus- 
tomers calling  for  automatic  controllers  to  be  delivered 
in  unusually  short  periods. 

In  building  up  a  system  that  would  meet  these  emer- 
gencies, it  was  found  that  obtaining  raw  materials  with 
which  to  manufacture  these  devices  was  one  of  the  great 
stumbling  blocks.  Delays  of  this  kind  often  injured 
progress  considerably.  Suppliers  made  promises  they 
could  not  meet,  and  their  deliveries  were  very  slow. 
Some  of  them  probably  learned  from  experience  that 


166 PRODUCTION    METHODS 

most  of  their  customers  asked  for  unusually  short  deliv- 
eries when  they  did  not  actually  need  the  material  until 
later.  Delay  in  getting  these  stores  was  further  in- 
creased because  the  dealers  in  electrical  supplies  were 
located  at  a  distance. 

One  of  the  natural  solutions  of  this  problem  was  to 
maintain  a  large  reserve  of  stock  material  to  draw  from. 
This  meant,  however,  tying  up  a  large  amount  of  capi- 
tal, to  say  nothing  of  loss  through  possible  obsolete 
stores.  Consequently  this  solution  was  abandoned  in 
favor  of  a  rational  and  well-governed  ordering  and  pro- 
duction system. 

THOROUGH  order  and  organization  in  the  stock  room, 
with  maximum  and  minimum  limits  to  guide  order- 
ing, make  prompt  delivery  to  customers  possible. 

The  present  results  were  obtained  primarily  through  a 
revision  of  the  methods  used  in  the  stock  department  in 
the  issuing  of  material,  in  the  ordering  of  material,  and 
in  the  method  of  obtaining  it  from  the  supplier.  In  the 
revision  of  the  stock  system  it  was  found  that  above 
all,  a  store  room  must  be  kept  orderly  and  tidy  and  that 
material  must  be  placed  in  bins,  racks  or  on  hooks,  and 
that  nothing  whatever  should  be  allowed  to  lie  around 
on  the  floor  where  it  would  degenerate  into  the  rubbish 
heap  or  consume  the  storekeeper's  time  in  trying  to  find 
it.  The  bins  were  therefore  grouped  according  to  a  gen- 
eral classification  of  material.  All  copper  wire  bins  are 
now  placed  together,  also  all  bins  for  iron  castings,  brass 
castings  and  patterns.  In  electrical  apparatus  small 
screws,  nuts  and  washers  differing  greatly  in  length, 
shape,  diameter  and  size  are  used.  These  are  now  kept 
in  glass  jars  so  as  to  be  readily  detected.  Everything  is 
so  arranged  that  no  time  is  lost  in  locating  material,  for 


STOCK     ROOM     SYSTEM 


167 


it  is  realized  that  the  wages  of  a  workman  continue  while 
he  is  waiting  at  the  store  window  for  his  stock.  In 
order  to  locate  all  material  with  the  least  amount  of 
time,  every  box,  bin,  rack  and  hook  is  given  a  permanent 


ITEM 
MATEF 

NO                                MIN. 

STOCK 

RC-OROER 

QUaNTITV                                                      B 

IN  NO. 
:         AT  RATE  OF_ 

IAL 

FIRM  NO.                       PURCHASED  FROM 

NO. 

S.  0.  NO. 

RECEIVED 

ISSUED 

STOCK 

FORM  I:     The  bin  record  of  stock,  forwarded  to  the  order  clerk  when  the 

minimum  is  reached.    Once  a  week  bin  cards  selected  at  random  are 

checked  against  amounts  on  hand  to  insure  accuracy 

bin  number  which  is  paintetl  on  it,  the  numbers  being 
arranged  in  order,  so  that  the  bin  may  be  instantly 
located. 

The  key  to  bin  numbers  is  placed  on  bin  cards  similar 
to  those  shown  in  Form  I.  This  form  is  so  made  out 
that  it  helps  materially  in  expediting  the  work ;  an  exact 
record  of  the  available  stock  is  essential  and  this  form 
meets  the  demand  very  satisfactorily;  if  the  cards  are 
carefully  scrutinized  periodically,  the  material  should 
never  fall  below  the  danger  level.  There  is  one  card 
for  every  item  of  stock.  Each  size  screw,  for  instance, 
has  a  bin  number,  and  so  has  each  size  of  rod  and  wire. 
At  the  top  of  the  bin  card  is  given  a  description  of  the 
material,  and  below  this  a  record  for  the  re-ordering, 
receiving  and  issuing  of  new  material.  When  the  order 
clerk  in  the  general  office  orders  additional  material  he 


168 PRODUCTION    METHODS 

fills  in  at  the  top  of  the  bin  card  the  name  of  the  supply- 
ing company  and  the  rate  at  which  the  material  is  being 
purchased.  In  the  column  below  he  fills  in  the  number 
of  the  supplying  company,  the  number  of  his  outgoing 
material  ordered  and  the  date  of  ordering.  This  card 
is  then  sent  back  to  the  store  room.  When  goods  are 
received,  the  stockkeeper  fills  in  the  date  and  the 
quantity. 

Delays  previously  suffered  because  of  slow  deliveries 
have  been  largely  eliminated  by  the  use  of  date  columns 
on  the  bin  cards  showing  the  number  of  days  actually 
taken  by  each  supply  house  to  furnish  the  material 
ordered.  This  record  of  delivery  is  a  guide  to  the  order 
clerk  in  selecting  the  right  firm  to  order  from. 

In  order  further  to  expedite  the  work  in  the  store 
rooms,  the  man  in  charge  of  the  stock,  in  issuing  mate- 
rial to  workmen,  fills  in  the  number  of  the  shop  order 
on  the  requisition  and  also  the  quantity  issued,  at  the 
same  time  deducting  the  quantity  from  the  stock  column 
on  the  bin  card.  All  outgoing  material  is  charged  on 
the  bin  card  against  the  shop  order,  so  it  is  impossible 
for  any  material  to  go  astray. 

It  is  important  that  the  maximum  and  minimum  limits 
be  determined  with  care.  The  minimum  quantity  is 
'determined  by  the  period  required  to  secure  a  fresh 
supply  of  material  and  it  should  be  sufficient  to  cover 
the  needs  of  the  factory  in  the  meantime ;  in  other  words, 
it  should  include  the  time  necessary  to  convert  this 
material  into  finished  product.  In  order  to  preclude  any 
laxness  in  methods  used  in  this  department,  the  order 
clerk  periodically  goes  over  all  bin  cards  and  the  maxi- 
mum and  minimum  quantities  are  revised,  the  first  being 
increased  when  an  inspection  of  the  card  shows  the 
occurrence  of  shortages  before  new  deliveries  arrive  and 


STOCK     ROOM    SYSTEM 169 

when  it  is  obvious  that  quantities  specified  necessitate 
a  too  frequent  re-ordering.  As  it  is  not  known  at  just 
what  time  the  order  clerk  will  make  this  investigation, 
there  is  a  tendency  at  all  times  to  keep  the  system  work- 
ing efficiently. 

As  a  great  deal  depends  upon  the  care  with  which 
the  bin  records  are  kept,  an  effective  check  must  be 
made  regularly  to  test  the  accuracy  of  these  records. 
In  addition  to  the  periodical  testing  of  the  methods  used, 
the  order  clerk  has  a  standing  instruction  to  check 
over  every  week  ten  bins  selected  at  random  and  to  lay 
before  the  manager  a  report  giving  a  comparison  be- 
tween the  stock  recorded  on  the  bin  cards  and  the 
stock  actually  found  in  the  bins.  By  doing  this  regu- 
larly the  store  room  is  kept  in  order.  The  trouble  in- 
volved in  securing  rigid  accuracy  in  the  store  room  has 
been  amply  repaid  by  the  elimination  of  delays  due  to 
shortage  of  material. 

A  NTICIPATION  of  future  orders  prevents  the  possi- 
^*.  bility  of  materials  being  out  of  stock  when  needed — 
how  to  handle  requisitions  and  raw  material  orders. 

It  has  been  found  worth  while  to  have  in  charge  of 
the  stock  a  man  with  systematic  habits;  to  attempt  to 
run  a  store  room  with  cheap  help  is  false  economy.  In 
addition  to  devising  an  efficient  store  system,  it  is  highly 
important  to  eliminate  the  personal  element  from  all 
routine.  The  arrangement  of  materials  and  bins  must 
be  such  that  a  change  of  head  storekeeper  or  any  of  his 
assistants  will  not  throw  the  system  into  confusion.  This 
danger  is  guarded  against  by  sectional  listing  of  the 
store  according  to  kinds  of  material  and  by  the  key  on 
the  bin  cards,  so  that  it  is  possible  for  an  article  to  be 
immediately  located  by  any  one  having  practically  no 


170 PRODUCTION     METHODS 

knowledge  of  the  stockkeeping  system. 

Our  investigations  showed  that  serious  delays  to  work 
would  occur  when  the  order  department  had  not  an- 
ticipated shop  requirements  or  when  special  material  was 
required. 

To  prevent  such  a  delay,  the  storekeeper  is  now  in- 
structed to  check  orders  as  soon  as  he  receives  them, 
with  stock  on  hand.  In  this  manner  low  stocks  may  be 
ordered  instantly  and  supplies  received  by  the  time  the 
shop  is  ready  to  use  them.  The  material  to  be  ordered 
is  ascertained  by  the  storekeeper  by  allotting  on  his  bin 
cards  each  item  required  for  shop  orders.  The  material 
is  not  actually  taken  from  the  bin  until  the  workman  ap- 
plies for  it;  it  is  merely  allotted  so  that  stock  shown 
on  the  bin  card  indicates,  not  the  actual  quantity  in  the 
bin,  but  free  stock  available. 

By  anticipating  withdrawals  of  material  in  this  way, 
the  minimum  quantity  is  struck  a  week  or  two  earlier 
and  the  bins  replenished  that  much  sooner.  This,  of 
course,  adds  to  the  rapidity  with  which  this  department 
can  handle  all  stock  orders.  It  also  has  another  advan- 
tage: it  is  not  necessary  to  carry  large  stocks  at  all 
times,  but  merely  to  look  ahead  and  eliminate  delays 
which  previously  occurred  frequently.  This  one  feature, 
anticipation  in  re-ordering,  has  resulted,  not  only  in 
cutting  down  standard  deliveries  by  many  days,  but  has 
also  cheapened  production. 

It  is  impossible  for  the  drawing  room  to  anticipate 
every  bit  of  material  that  the  company  requires  on  all 
shop  orders.  Invariably  certain  materials  are  neglected 
until  the  last  minute,  usually  when  the  assembly  of 
parts  has  commenced.  It  would  then  be  too  late  to  or- 
der additional  material  sheets  through  the  regular  rou- 
tine and  it  becomes  necessary  to  devise  some  quick 


STOCK    ROOM    SYSTEM 


171 


method  of  obtaining  this  material.  The  gang  boss  trusted 
with  the  job  obtains  the  bulk  of  the  material  on  present- 
ing the  shop  copy  of  the  order  to  the  storekeeper ;  there- 
after he  is  responsible  for  this  material.  As  the  special 
features  of  design  are  worked  out,  material  is  brought 
to  light,  the  chief  draftsman  sends  to  the  foreman  in- 
structions regarding  what  extra  material  is  required. 


NO.      2973 

ELECTRICAL  CONTROL,  LIMITED, 

CLECTRICALENGINEERS  AND  MANUFACTURERS. 
GLASGOW. 

ACCOUNTS  PAID 
ON  MONTHLY 
CASH  DAYS 

DEAR  SIR. 

PLEASE  SUPPLY  us  WITH  THE  UNDER  NOTED  GOODS.  DELIVERED  INTO 

OUR  WORKS.  CARRIAGE  PAID.  AND  ACCOMPANIED  BY  RECEIVE   NOTC.GIVING  ORDER 
NO.  AND  DETAILED  WEIGHTS 

MATERIALS 

FOREMAN 

FOREMAN'S  REQUISITION  TO  STORE 
NO                                        FOR  ONE  SHOPOpr.ro  niMiv    OA-re 

1 

.FINISHED 
STOCK                  orsrn 

FROM 
S.  O.  NO. 

QUANT. 
IPTION                       RE- 
QUIRED 

QUANT. 
ISSUED 

RATE 
M.         L. 

MAT-           LAAALIB 

ERIAL       L*BOUB 

•=3Z^^\^  . 

RECEIVED  BY          NO.  
MMM 

~"  STOREMAN; 

DELIVERY  REQUIRED 

FORM  II  (back  card}:    Order  form  sent  to  the  supplier  when  goods  are 

requisitioned.     FORM  III  (front  card):     The  foreman's  requisition  on 

the  stock  room  for  materials 


As  the  job  proceeds  and  these  parts  are  needed,  the 
foreman  writes  out  a  material  requisition  card  (Form 
III)  and  gives  it  to  the  workman,  who  obtains  this  ma- 
terial on  presenting  his  requisition  to  the  storekeeper. 


172 PRODUCTION    METHODS 

All  requisitions  are  collected  from  the  store  rooms  daily 
by  the  cost  clerk. 

In  order  that  the  cost  of  jobs  may  be  determined 
accurately,  it  is  essential  to  prohibit  the  drawing  of 
stores  on  informal  requisitions,  as  these  are  afterwards 
lost  or  easily  overlooked.  The  storekeepers  are  instructed 
to  recognize  no  requisitions  for  material  except  the 
shop  orders  or  material  requisitions  duly  initialed  by 
the  foreman  and  with  the  necessary  information  care- 
fully filled  in. 

After  every  possible  chance  of  expediting  the  work 
in  the  factory  was  put  into  effect,  the  investigation  was 
turned  to  the  outside,  and  a  systematic  study  was  made 
of  the  suppliers  of  raw  material.  If  they  could  be  made 
to  cut  down  their  delivery  period  twenty  to  thirty  per 
cent,  it  meant  an  equal  saving  to  this  company.  It 
was  also  found  necessary  to  revise,  to  a  certain  extent, 
the  methods  of  ordering  this  material;  the  method  of 
handling  now  is  as  follows: 

All  orders  for  manufacturing  material  are  sent  out  on 
an  order  card  (Form  II)  by  the  order  clerk.  He  re- 
ceives all  information  regarding  what  is  required  from 
the  bin  cards  sent  from  the  store  room,  for  when  the 
storekeeper,  on  allotting  material  for  the  job  on  his  bin 
cards,  reaches  the  minimum  stock  limit,  he  immediately 
sends  these  cards  into  the  office  for  re-ordering.  The 
order  clerk  sends  out  to  the  supply  house  his  order 
for  the  material.  He  also  records  on  the  bin  cards 
the  material  order  number  and  the  date  of  each 
card  for  which  material  is  wanted. 

The  additional  material  not  anticipated  in  advance  is  or- 
dered when  the  clerk  receives  instructions  from  the  draw- 
ing office  direct.  The  outgoing  orders  (Form  II)  are 
made  out  in  duplicate ;  the  carbon  copy  sheet  is  retained 


STOCK    ROOM    SYSTEM 173 

by  the  order  clerk  and  filed  away  serially  in  a  live  order 
binder  until  the  material  is  invoiced,  when  it  is  trans- 
ferred to  a  supplier's  binder  for  future  reference. 

The  routine  followed  in  this  shop  makes  it  easy  to 
secure  materials  in  the  shortest  possible  time,  giving  the 
management  assurance  that  the  wheels  will  be  con- 
stantly turning,  and  letting  the  salesmen  feel  that  their 
" hurry"  orders  will  not  be  lost  sight  of. 


A  PROPERLY  established  stock  room  should  more  than  pay 
^*  for  itself  within  a  year.  Not  only  is  the  stock  room  an 
insurance  against  loss  or  theft,  but  by  means  of  the  material 
records  kept  therein,  orders  for  raw  material  can  be  placed  to 
the  best  advantage,  and  quantities  for  purchases  accurately 
gauged. 

—Kenneth  E.  Clarke 


XXI 

FOLLOWING  THE  WORK 
BY  PLAN  BOARD 

F.  M.  Feiker 

ONE  manufacturer  who  had  been  reading  how  the 
principles  of  scientific  management  may  be  applied 
in  his  factory  got,  first,  a  new  viewpoint  on  his  factory 
work;  second,  a  group  of  suggestions  on  mechanical 
methods  of  handling  orders  and  clerical  work,  such  as 
the  economic  system  of  numbering  tools  and  of  marking 
bins,  the  ten-hour  clock  dial  and  the  plan  board. 

Without  going  deeper  into  scientific  reorganization,  a 
manager  may  easily  apply  any  or  all  of  these  little 
methods  of  handling  the  routine  of  a  factory  and  get 
good  results.  Among  these  instances  of  ingenuity  ap- 
plied by  men  who  are  adopting  or  adapting  the  methods 
of  scientific  management,  the  plan  board  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  one  of  the  most  generally  helpful. 

Essentially,  the  plan  board  is  a  graphic  card  index — 
a  well  planned  follow-up  system.  Many  factories  have 
applied  the  graphic  follow-up  system  in  other  forms, 
but  the  plan  board,  if  put  into  effect  in  an  organization, 
helps  to  educate  the  organization  in  the  principles  of 
more  scientific  methods  of  handling  work. 

A  plan  board  requires  at  least  three  things  for  its 
successful  operation:  first,  a  planning  department  or  a 
planner— a  central  source  of  all  orders ;  second,  a  method 
of  shop  organization  by  departments  to  enable  work  to 


HOW    TO    USE    A    PLAN    BOARD 175 

be  handled  clerically  with  as  little  time  and  effort  as 
possible ;  and  third,  a  careful  order  system.  The  second 
usually  involves  subdividing  the  factory  into  as  many 
processing  departments  as  may  be  necessary,  and  giving 
each  of  these  departments  a  key  or  letter  number  by 
which  it  can  be  called  in  the  records.  If  carried  out 
in  its  entirety,  the  plan  board  also  makes  necessary  a 
complete  system  of  numbering  stock  parts,  patterns, 
tools  and  general  equipment.  The  plan  board  makes 
essential  a  skeleton  system  of  ordering  work— some  sort 
of  card  plan  by  which  each  order  that  comes  in  is  given 
a  number  by  which  it  is  known  thereafter. 

The  plan  board,  consequently,  really  makes  necessary 
the  introduction  of  a  system  of  handling  the  work  in  a 
factory,  no  matter  what  that  work  is.  This  is  one  of  its 
chief  values.  Another  practical  value  of  the  board  lies 
in  the  fact  that  it  shows  graphically  the  progress  of  the 
work;  it  holds  up  before  department  heads  at  all  times 
the  progress  of  work  and  fixes  responsibility  for  delays. 
Spread  out  on  the  wall  as  it  is,  the  effect  of  this  follow- 
up  is  psychological.  It  tends  to  keep-up  department  out- 
put and  to  fit  the  work  of  one  department  into  that  of 
the  next. 

These  are  the  chief  reasons  why  the  manager  of  the 
production  department  in  one  concern  decided  to  adopt 
the  plan-board  principle  in  the  handling  of  its  work.  The 
methods  this  production  department  used  for  applying 
the  plan  board  show  how  the  board  may  be  applied  to 
other  classes  of  work.  For  it  is  the  idea  of  the  plan  board 
which  is  valuable — not  the  card  system  involved  or  the 
mechanical  method  of  construction  employed  in  this 
particular  case.  Probably,  the  particular  card  system 
employed  by  this  production  department  could  not  be 
used  in  any  factory  without  modifications,  but  the  fact 


176 PRODUCTION    METHODS ^ 

that  the  plan-board  idea  which  has  been  adapted  by  this 
production  department  was  a  combination  of  ideas  taken 
from  the  plan  boards  used  in  other  factories  shows  how 
the  essential  elements  in  it  may  be  adapted  to  all  sorts  of 
conditions. 

The  board  cost  seventy-five  dollars  and  was  built 
on  contract  by  a  local  carpenter.  It  is  built  up  from 
birch  lumber.  Rough  boards  about  twelve  feet  long  were 
ripped  into  strips  ranging  from  two  to  three  inches  in 
width.  These  strips  were  laid  side  by  side,  glued  and 
clamped  until  dry. 

PLAN  BOARD  made  for  the  production  department  of 
one  concern — how  it  can  be  used  to  follow  the  order 
through  the  factory  and  keep  track  of  processing. 

This  board  complete  measures  about  eight  by  twelve 
feet  and  had  to  be  built  in  three  sections  so  that  it  could 
be  carried  up  the  elevator  and  assembled  on  the  wall 
where  it  is  used.  The  matter  of  building  the  board  in 
sections  may  seem  obvious,  yet  this  particular  board, 
which  is  located  on  the  sixteenth  story  of  a  building, 
had  to  be  constructed  twice,  because  the  carpenter  in 
taking  it  up  the  elevator  shaft  the  first  time  dropped  it 
after  it  reached  the  fourth  story. 

The  board  was  stained,  polished  and  striped  in  place. 
The  completed  board  is  divided  into  four  sections:  the 
first  section  labeled  " Ideas,"  the  second  "Plans,"  the 
third  " Tasks,"  and  the  fourth  "Supervision."  Of 
course,  this  subdivision  of  the  board  is  one  of  the  fea- 
tures which  would  differ  when  the  idea  is  adapted  to 
other  lines  of  work.  In  the  average  production  depart- 
ment, the  section  labeled  "Ideas"  would  be  reserved  for 
"Orders  Ahead,"  although  the  other  three  might  stand 
as  given. 


HOW    TO    USE    A    PLAN    BOARD 


177 


Hooks  are  used  for  holding  the  cards,  a  pair  of  hooks 
for  each  card.  These  hooks  are  spaced  two  and  one-half 
inches  and  holes  in  the  cards  are  punched  to  correspond. 
For  convenience,  each  double  row  of  hooks  is  made  a  unit 
by  drawing  a  vertical  line  midway  between  each  pair. 
This  makes  it  easy  to  distinguish  the  pairs  of  hooks 
along  each  vertical  row. 

As  it  was  essential  that  the  board  always  present  a 
uniform  surface,  one  other  detail  of  construction  is 


•  

""""""•—  -^^J              PLAN 

_-_  

—  

TASKS 

"j  BOARD  CARDS 

SUPERVISION 

1 

1 

DEFINITE  ORDER 
OF  WORK 

DEFINITE 
FOLLOW-UP  ON 
ALL  ORDERS 

COMPLETED 

WORK 

FIGURE  XIV:     This  analysis  of  the  plan  board  shows  how  it  operates, 
and  indicates  the  natural  sequence  in  the  process  of  getting  work  done 

worth  mentioning.  The  three  sections  of  the  board  are 
connected  by  reinforcing  strips.  These  strips  are  fas- 
tened to  the  board  by  screws  placed  in  slots  so  that  the 
various  sections  can  expand  or  contract  without  splitting 
or  warping  the  front  face  of  the  board.  The  board  is 
mahoganized;  the  lines  of  subdivision  for  groups  are 
drawn  with  aluminum  paint,  while  the  vertical  unit 
lines  for  the  hooks  are  drawn  with  green  paint. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  cards  hung  on  this  board  may  be 
placed  in  a  great  variety  of  combinations  and  that  the 


178 PRODUCTION    METHODS 

method  of  handling  the  cards  depends  entirely  upon  the 
kind  of  business. 

The  section  labeled  ''Ideas"  corresponds  to  work  ahead 
in  the  factory.  Later  on,  these  ideas  develop  into 
plans,  and  from  plans  they  become  tasks.  The  card 
system  for  handling  a  plan  is  interesting.  Card  forms 
are  printed  in  perforated  strips  of  nine  cards  each. 
When  a  job  is  planned  it  is  laid  out  into  tasks  by  the 
planning  department.  The  planning  department  in  this 
case  is  not  an  elaborate  organization  bilt  the  head  of  the 
production  department  and  his  chief  assistant.  The 
way  this  little  organization  works  when  handling  an 
order  is  shown  in  Figure  XIV. 

The  first  card  of  the  nine  is  reserved  as  a  general 
outline  of  the  work.  Each  of  the  other  cards  represents 
one  detail  of  the  work  to  be  performed  by  one  member 
of  the  production  department  or  by  some  department  in 
the  organization.  Under  other  conditions,  each  card 
might  represent  a  job  to  be  given  to  a  workman,  or  an 
order  that  was  to  go  on  some  special  machine,  or  an  order 
to  be  handled  by  some  one  department. 

When  an  idea  in  this  particular  production  depart- 
ment gets  to  the  stage  where  a  plan  is  made  for  it,  a 
plan  card  is  filled  out  and  is  hung  on  the  hooks  corre- 
sponding to  plans.  There  it  is  ready  to  be  pushed  on 
through  the  different  operating  departments  as  the  work 
each  day  progresses.  As  soon  as  the  date  on  which  the 
plan  is  to  be  put  into  effect  is  decided  upon  the  strips 
are  properly  filled  out  for  the  work  to  be  done  by  each 
department  and  are  hung  in  the  subdivision  Tasks.  The 
first  card  at  the  top  of  the  strip,  on  which  is  written 
an  analysis  of  all  the  other  cards,  is  hung  on  a  pair  of 
hooks  in  the  subdivision  labeled  "  Supervision. "  Each 
morning  the  cards  are  distributed  according  to  this  plan 


HOW    TO    USE    A    PLAN    BOARD 179 

so  that  tasks  may  be  assigned  to  suitable  departments. 
Each  row  of  hooks  in  xhe  subdivision,  ' '  Tasks, ' '  is  headed 
by  a  label  holder  and  in  this  label  holder  may  be  placed 
the  name  of  the  department  where  the  tasks  are  assigned. 
The  names  in  the  label  holders  may  be  changed  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  jobs  in  the  department,  which 
makes  the  board  very  flexible. 

When  a  certain  job  is  to  be  hurried,  a  glance  at  the 
task  slips,  still  hanging  on  the  board,  reveals  at  once 
who  is  holding  back  the  work.  The  cards  that  remain 
in  position  there  are  graphic  layouts  of  the  work  still  to 
be  done.  If  one  man  is  taking  more  time  than  was 
scheduled  to  complete  his  job  he  must  be  followed  up 
and  the  little  card  record  of  the  task  he  was  assigned 
becomes,  therefore,  a  follow-up  slip. 

What  this  method  of  handling  orders  saves  in  one 
production  department  it  may  save  in  production  de- 
partments doing  other  classes  of  work.  The  mere  in- 
troduction of  this  plan  of  handling  work  throughout  the 
department  has  definitely  fixed  responsibility  for  orders. 
It  has  saved  delays  in  handling  the  details  of  ordering ; 
it  enables  the  department  head  to  know  each  morning 
the  standing  of  orders  and  to  follow  up  all  the  details 
connected  with  them. 

It  does  away  with  the  crowding  of  departments.  When 
work  is  assigned  to  a  department  scheduled  by  dates  it 
is  evident,  by  a  glance  at  the  board,  when  other  work 
can  be  assigned  to  it.  By  keeping  track  of  the  dates  on 
the  cards,  it  is  possible  to  estimate  the  amount  of  time 
an  order  will  take.  It  is  also  possible  to  tell,  by  com- 
paring dates  and  times,  how  long  it  takes  to  put  a  cer- 
tain quantity  of  work  through  a  department.  This  one 
fact  alone  may  lead  to  the  standardization  of  methods 
in  a  department  so  that  it  will  always  take  the  same 


180 PRODUCTION    METHODS 

time  to  put  through  the  orders,  and  so  that  causes  for 
delays  will  be  known  and  there  will  be  greater  possibili- 
ties for  removing  the  causes,  because  they  have  been 
so  tabulated.  In  short,  it  enables  the  planning  executive 
of  a  factory  to  hold  the  reins  and  definitely  control  pro- 
duction. 


TRACTOR  Y  plants  can  no  longer  be  run  in  the  haphazard 
A  manner  of  former  years.  A  system  of  schedules,  by 
which  the  manager  plans  his  processes  and  his  output  months 
ahead  of  time,  is  an  absolute  necessity  in  order  to  face  the 
attacks  of  competition  and  eliiiiinate  all  elements  of  uncer- 
tainty and  waste  in  production. 

—Robert  Daily 

Of  The  Mitchell-Lewis    Motor  Company 


XXII 

MAKING  DELIVERY  DATES 
GOVERN  PRODUCTION 

By  W.  Poole  Dryer 
Managing  Director,  The  W.  Poole  Dryer  Company 

QUICK  delivery  is  one  of  the  most  effective  means 
for  establishing  new  connections.  In  our  factory, 
apparatus  was  complicated  and  could  not  be  stocked 
quite  finished;  so  careful  organization  of  production 
seemed  the  only  solution  of  the  quick  delivery  problem. 
Before  organization  came  analysis ;  for  it  is  only  by  pre- 
viously investigating  in  detail  the  hindrances  and  delays 
that  an  appropriate  system  of  routine  can  be  established. 

Our  chief  product  is  automatic  starters  for  electric 
motors.  The  duties  performed  by  such  apparatus  are  so 
various  and  the  voltages  of  circuits  differ  so  much  in 
various  places  that  stocking  finished  goods  is  impossible ; 
the  most  that  can  be  done  is  to  stock  partly  assembled 
apparatus — only  those  parts  common  to  all  requirements. 
In  some  lines  even  this  cannot  be  done,  for  standardiza- 
tion is  next  to  impossible.  As  far  as  possible,  the  com- 
ponent parts  of  the  apparatus  are  made  up  in  large 
quantities  on  stock  orders;  from  them  any  combination 
can  be  readily  made  up  to  suit  customers'  requirements. 

Finished  stock  parts  are  in  the  same  category  as  raw 
materials ;  corresponding  to  bin  cards  used  for  the  latter 
are  the  "Stock  Record  Cards"  (Form  VI)  of  the  former. 

There  is  one  such  card  for  each  stock  part  or  group 
of  parts;  on  this  is  entered  the  number  of  the  "Stock 


182 


PRODUCTION     METHODS 


Shop  Order"  and  the  quantity  made  is  also  given.  As 
contracts  require,  these  stock  parts  are  allotted  to  the 
"Contract  Shop  Orders,"  the  quantity  allotted  and  the 
number  of  this  new  shop  order  being  stated  on  the  stock 
record  card.  The  difference  between  the  ' '  Ordered ' '  and 
the  "Allotted"  quantities  gives  the  "Free  Stock  or 
Order,"  which  is  analogous  to  the  raw  material  in  bin 


MATERIAL  SHEET  F                              -r 

STORES  |  EiS.  

ORDER 

NO.  or 
SETS 

ASSEMBL1 
DRAWING 

OIAO.  or 

T  ONS 

DATC 

TOTAL  QUANTITY  REQUIRED 

DESCRIPTION  or  jo* 

NO. 

NO. 

-OCSCR. 

PTION 

or° 

SECTION 

E"R"[ 

LENGTH 

QUANT 

OUIRCO 

ISSUED 

R*TE    > 

MOWN 

F             BCWARnS 

WEIGHT 

0. 

1 

1 

SHOP  ORDER  FORM 

DATE 

SSUED 

H,NG  WORM 



3 

8 

APPARATUS  DESPATCHED 

DESPATCHED 



9 

QUOTATION  «0. 

OCSPAT 

CH  ASKED 

DESPATCH  TO:  - 

12 

PER 

13 

INVOICE  TO:- 

15 

OROER 

QUANTITY 

?Hll™NO 

NO. 

DESCRIPTION  or  JOB 

~ 

18 
19 

LAB 

ROY 
CON 
CAR 
EXT 

MIS 

_ 

2O 



21 

22 
23 
24 

TOTAL  

APPARATUS  PAS 

SCO  BY 

0 

ATE 

FORM  I  (middle  card}:   Shop  order  form,  made  out  in  multiple.     FORM 

II  (small  card):     Reverse  of  FORM  7,  showing  cost  details.     FORM  III 

(back  card}:     Material  sheet,  giving  instructions  as  to  material  needed 

in  the  case  of  raw  stores;  one  difference,  there  is,  how- 
ever, the  "Free  Stock  on  Order"  may  still  be  in  course 
of  manufacture. 

When  the  requirements  of  contract  orders  have  re- 
duced the  free  stock  to  the  minimum  noted  at  top  of 


ORDER    ROUTINE 183 

card,  a  replenished  "  Stock  Shop  Order"  is  issued  to  the 
shops.  These  manufacturing  instructions  are  issued  on 
the  "Shop  Order  Form"  (Form  I)  and  are  treated 
after  the  same  fashion  as  "Contract  Shop  Orders,"  as 
will  be  explained.  After  the  receipt  and  acceptance  of 
a  contract,  the  order  is  recorded  in  the  Contract  Book 
(Form  IV),  where  the  contract  is  allotted  a  serial 
number.  No  information  is  given  in  this  book  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  job;  it  merely  states  the  customer's  name 
and  the  "Shop  Order"  number — this  being  filled  in  after 
the  manufacturing  instructions  are  made  out.  The  name 
of  the  salesman  also  is  noted  in  the  contract  book,  which 
is  used  in  computing  commissions.  The  customer's  order 
is  then  passed  on  to  the  engineer  so  that  the  machinery 
of  production  may  be  set  in  motion.  Since  incoming 
orders  contain  much  technical  description,  the  actual 
order  form  sent  by  the  customer  is  passed  on  by  the 
general  office  to  the  engineer,  who,  without  delay,  trans- 
lates the  technicalities  into  the  standard  nomenclature 
applied  by  the  company  to  its  apparatus.  The  engineer 
drafts  out  the  "Shop  Order,"  giving  general  manufac- 
turing instructions;  then  returns  the  customer's  order 
to  the  general  office,  where  it  is  filed  in  the  "Live  Bin- 
der of  Customers'  Orders,"  with  the  number  of  the  con- 
tract and  the  "Shop  Orders"  noted  on  it. 

ROUTINE  of  handling  the  order  so  that  production 
may  start  promptly — how  each  department  is  notified 
in  advance  so  as  to  be  ready  for  coming  work. 

The  full  draft  of  the  "Shop  Order"  is  entered  into 
the  "Shop  Order  Book"  (Form  V),  which  constitutes 
the  permanent  record  of  manufacturing  orders.  This 
book  allots  shop  order  numbers  to  the  various  apparatus 
in  the  contract.  Here  is  also  specified  the  general  type 


184 PRODUCTION     METHODS 

of  the  constituent  apparatus  required;  the  number  of 
complete  sets,  and  whether  the  component  groups  are  to 
be  taken  from  stock  or  made  to  new  material  sheets; 
the  description  also  gives  particulars  of  the  final  elec- 
trical tests  to  which  the  apparatus  must  be  subjected. 

All  the  information  in  the  "Shop  Order  Book"  is 
copied  on  the  "Shop  Order  Form"  (Form  I),  five  type- 
written copies  being  made.  This  "Shop  Order  Form" 
was  devised  to  be  as  comprehensive  as  possible ;  it  is  the 
fundamental  sheet  of  all  production,  fulfilling  functions 
ordinarily  necessitating  a  great  number  of  different 
forms. 

This  basic  sheet  carries  to  all  departments  the  gen- 
eral instructions  and  the  key  to  detail  instructions  re- 
quired by  them  right  up  until  the  time  the  goods  are 
dispatched;  and  ultimately  this  copy  has  recorded  on  it 
the  cost  of  the  job,  and  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
apparatus.  The  "Shop  Order  Cards"  perform  all  these 
diverse  functions  by  making  all  five  copies  of  it  carry 
the  same  general  description  of  the  apparatus ;  then  be- 
fore distributing  the  copies  to  the  various  departments, 
the  particular  instructions  applying  to  each  section  are 
added  on  the  respective  sheets. 

Reference  to  Form  I  will  show  how,  by  using  one 
sheet  in  duplicate  in  this  way,  a  large  variety  of  instruc- 
tions can  be  distributed  throughout  the  organization  at 
one  time.  With  merely  the  manufacturing  instructions 
thereon,  all  the  copies  are  passed  by  the  engineers  to  the 
manager's  office,  where  the  instructions  are  first  checked. 
One  copy  to  be  retained  in  the  manager's  department,  is 
filled  out  in  full  detail ;  up  in  the  right-hand  top  column 
is  placed  the  complete  time  schedule  of  the  job.  This  is 
fixed  from  a  consideration  of  the  customer's  requests, 
the  capacity  of  each  department  and  the  state  of  stock. 


ORDER    ROUTINE 


185 


The  middle  top  column  is  used  for  " history'*  dates. 
Transportation  instructions  are  also  filled  in,  together 
with  the  name  of  the  customer  to  whom  the  invoice  must 
be  sent — these  names  are  usually  the  same,  for  the  goods 
are  usually  sent  to  the  customer  direct;  hence  this  key 


FORM  IV  (top  card):    Contract  book  which  lists  orders.    FORM  V 
(middle  card}:     Stock  order  record,  in  which  one  card  represents  each 
stock  part.     FORM  VI  (bottom  card):     Shop  order  book  containing  per- 
manent shop  order  records 

copy  of  the  "Shop  Order  Form"  retained  in  the  man- 
ager's department  tells  everything  about  the  job.  It 
can,  therefore,  be  used  for  following  production  day  by 
day  without  the  need  of  referring  to  any  other  record ; 
moreover,  it  is  the  one  copy  put  on  permanent  file; 
its  obverse  side  records  the  costs  and  the  ultimate  his- 
tory of  the  goods.  The  other  four  sheets  of  the  "Shop 


186 PRODUCTION     METHODS 

Order  Form"  have  on  them  the  particular  information 
each  department  requires.  These  copies  are  then  dis- 
tributed to  the  chief  draftsman,  the  shop  superin- 
tendent, the  testing  department  and  the  dispatch  clerk. 

The  four  copies  to  the  different  productive  depart- 
ments constitute  merely  the  general  authority  to  the 
shops  to  engage  on  the  shop  order,  charging  time  and 
material  to  it.  Work  cannot  be  commenced  by  them, 
however,  until  full  specification  lists  of  the  material  to 
be  used  on  the  job  are  issued  from  the  drawing  office. 
The  burden  of  forwarding  the  work  is  therefore  on  this 
department,  which  issues  full  instructions  and  drawings. 
The  instructions  are  all  embodied  on  the  "Material 
Sheet "  (Form  III)  and  specifies  all  material  required. 
Each  material  sheet  has  a  distinguishing  number  pre- 
fixed by  the  letter  "F,"  and  from  the  master  tracing 
sheets  retained  in  the  drawing  office  blueprints  are  issued 
the  shop,  stores  and  cost  departments. 

PROGRESS  of  work  is  watched  and  regulated  by  the 
JL  production  room,  which  has  the  general  direction  of 
orders  and  keeps  all  departments  busy. 

Referring  to  Form  I,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  third 
lower  column  on  the  "Shop  Order  Form"  denotes  the 
number  of  the  material  sheets  to  be  used  for  the  job, 
while  on  the  material  sheets  are  given  the  number  of  the 
drawings  to  be  used  and  also  particulars  about  the 
material.  As  will  be  seen  from  Form  IV,  the  material 
sheets  constitute  a  full  specification  of  the  details  of  the 
job;  the  right-hand  columns  are  blanked  out  white  on 
the  blueprints  so  as  to  allow  the  store  man  to  fill  in  the 
columns  recording  the  material  issued;  this  also  allows 
the  cost  clerk  to  make  up  the  material  costs. 

The  foregoing  description  outlines  how  the  starting 


ORDER    ROUTINE 187 

of  work  on  a  shop  order  is  authorized  by  the  issuance 
of  "Shop  Order  Forms"  to  each  department.  Further 
particulars  are  carried  on  the  "Material  Sheets"  and 
drawings.  It  is  essential,  however,  that  the  progress  of 
all  the  jobs  be  followed  day  by  day  from  one  central 
point  or  department,  and  this  is  the  duty  of  the  pro- 
duction clerk  in  the  manager's  department.  Here  all 
the  productive  sections  are  coordinated  and  from  this 
focal  point  all  departments  are  watched  to  insure  that 
they  are  keeping  to  schedule — that  each  is  regularly 
feeding  the  next  department  with  necessary  instructions 
and  materials.  Particularly  is  it  the  function  of  this 
production  department  to  release  deadlocks  and  conges- 
tion in  the  progress  of  the  jobs.  For  instance,  when  raw 
material  is  being  delayed  in  railway  transit,  the  produc- 
tion clerk  gets  after  the  railway  company  and  has  it  fol- 
lowed by  telegraph  tracers  who  immediately  get  on  the 
tracks  of  the  delayed  consignments;  or  the  shops  may 
have  overlooked  the  manufacture  of  some  one  part — a 
minor  part,  it  seems,  yet  quite  as  potent  in  retarding 
the  dispatch  of  the  largest  casting  on  the  apparatus. 
Here  again  the  production  department  steps  in  and 
sees  that  the  foreman  gives  special  attention  to  the 
backward  work.  In  short,  the  production  department 
has  complete  control  of  the  time  element  of  all  work. 
It  is  given  plenary  powers  to  initiate  exceptional  pro- 
cedure to  meet  exceptional  hindrances.  Coordinating 
all  producing  sections,  the  production  department  is  sub- 
servient to  none. 

When  the  workshop  has  completed  its  manufacture, 
the  apparatus  is  wheeled  to  the  testing  department; 
where  it  is  subjected  to  rigorous  mechanical  and  elec- 
trical tests.  Every  magnet  coil  has  applied  to  it  the 
same  current  and  voltage  that  the  customer  will  use. 


188 PRODUCTION    METHODS 

In  fact,  it  is  operated  under  conditions  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible identical  with  those  to  which  it  will  be  subjected  in 
actual  use.  It  is  operated,  not  once  or  twice,  but  many 
times,  so  that  latent  weakness  may  be  revealed  and  cor- 
rected before  dispatching.  All  the  apparatus  is  auto- 
matic; on  this  account  the  endurance  tests  to  which  it 
is  subjected  are  unusually  severe,  for  any  failure  to 
perform  its  unobserved  functions  might  result  in  grave 
disaster  to  an  extensive  plant.  On  the  testing  depart- 
ment copy  of  the  "Shop  Order  Form"  the  particular 
operating  and  testing  conditions  of  the  apparatus  are 
given.  When  the  tester  is  satisfied  that  the  goods  are 
mechanically  and  electrically  reliable,  he  has  them  in- 
spected by  one  of  the  special  engineers,  who  has  final 
authority  to  "pass"  the  apparatus.  Not  until  the  initials 
of  one  of  these  engineers  are  put  in  the  space  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  tester's  "Shop  Order  Form,"  left  for  that 
purpose,  can  any  goods  leave  the  testing  department 
for  packing. 

The  tester  hands  his  "Shop  Order  Form"  to  the  dis- 
patch clerk,  who  gives  packing  instructions  to  the  shops. 
He  sees  that  no  goods  are  packed  except  those  for  which 
he  has  received  initialed  sheets  from  the  tester. 

After  the  goods  are  dispatched  the  job  costs  are 
entered  on  the  back  of  the  "Shop  Order  Form"  used  in 
the  manager's  department.  This  information  consists  of : 

(1)  The     various     directly     assessable 
costs  incurred  by  the  company  in  produc- 
ing the  job. 

(2)  The  "Invoiced  Price"  of  the  job- 
that  is,  what  the  customer  is  charged. 

(3)  The   "Selling   Value"— what  the 
customer  should  have  been  charged. 

"With  the  cost  information  filled  in,  the  "Shop  Order 


ORDER    ROUTINE 189 

Form"  is  then  filed  away  in  serial  order  in  the  " Com- 
plete Contract  Shop  Orders"  binder.  At  any  future 
time  the  customer,  on  requiring  any  part  replaced  or 
changed,  need  only  telegraph  his  desires  along  with  the 
"Apparatus  Number."  Since  these  numbers  run  paral- 
lel with  the  shop  order  numbers,  reference  to  the  * '  Com- 
pleted Customer  Orders"  binder  immediately  gives  the 
key  to  all  the  particulars  of  the  apparatus.  The  change 
effected  is  recorded  on  the  lower  half  of  the  obverse 
side  of  the  filed  copy  of  the  "Shop  Order  Form";  there- 
by the  history  of  the  apparatus  is  kept  up  to  date  on 
the  same  sheet  which  contains  the  original  description 
of  the  work. 


rPO  MAKE  immediate  delivery  from  stock,  to  get  out  orders 
•*•  in  the  least  possible  time  with  a  minimum  stock,  to  manu- 
facture and  complete  customers'  orders  in  a  minimum  amount 
of  time,  to  handle  rush  jobs  efficiently,  and  yet  maintain  a 
constant  supply  of  material  passing  through  the  plant  in  a 
continuous  steady  stream  in  no  greater  quantity  than  is  abso- 
lutely necessary,  to  insure  a  steady  supply  for  all  workers — 
these  constitute  the  duties  of  the  routing  and  production  de- 
partment of  the  factory. 

— H.  C.  Wright 


XXIII 

SHAPING  TOOL  ROOM 
SERVICE  TO  THE  WORKMAN 

By  J.  T.  Carpenter 

HIS  grocery  store  furnished  the  manager  of  a  large 
middle  western  factory  with  an  idea  for  checking 
tools  in  and  out  of  the  tool  room.  In  his  shop,  as  in 
many  others,  the  workmen  were  supplied  with  numbered 
brass  checks.  One  of  these  was  left  with  the  tool  room 
keeper  for  each  tool  drawn  out  and  was  returned  when 
the  tool  was  brought  back. 

If  several  men  apply  for  or  return  tools  at  once  under 
this  usual  system,  time  is  lost  by  the  attendant  in  get- 
ting the  tools  and  handling  each  man's  check  in  the 
empty  tool  space,  or  vice  versa,  and  both  confusion  and 
disputes  are  apt  to  arise.  When  he  comes  to  return  a 
tool,  the  workman  will  often  leave  it  without  waiting 
for  his  check,  if  others  are  before  him,  trusting  to  get 
the  check  later.  This  is  inevitably  a  prolific  source  of 
disputes,  particularly  if  a  tool  is  broken. 

A  system  which  replaces  this  arrangement  is  the 
method  many  grocery  and  other  small  retail  stores  use 
to  keep  a  record  of  their  customers*  monthly  accounts. 
When  a  workman  applies  for  a  tool  a  record  of  the  fact 
is  made  on  the  account  slip  (Form  I).  The  slips  are 
made  in  duplicate,  the  original  being  retained  by  the 
tool  room  keeper  and  the  copy  handed  to  the  man,  to- 
gether with  the  tool.  Each  slip,  with  its  duplicate,  bears 


KEEPING    TRACK    OF    TOOLS 


191 


a  consecutive  number  for  identification  purposes.  The 
original  slip  is  filed  in  an  account  register,  each  work- 
man being  given  a  space  in  the  register  bearing  his 
number. 

"When  the  tool  is  returned,  it  is  merely  handed  in  with 
the  duplicate  slip.     The  workman's  responsibility  ends 


VEHICLE  MFC  CO 

TOOL  ACCOUNT  OF  NO. 


NOTICE  TO'WORKMEN 

THIS  ACCOUNT  MUST 
NOT  BE  DESTROYED.  WHEN 
TOOLS  ARE  RETURNED  THIS  SLIP 
MUST  GO  WITH  THEM.  AND  NO 


EMPLOYEES 


VEHICLE  MFC  CO 

BREAKAGE  SLIP 


CHECK  DEPT. 

•REPLACE 


TOOL  CHECKER 


NAME  OF  TOOL 
BROKEN  BY 


NAME  OF  WORKMAN 


TOOL    OEPARTVET 


FORM  I  (back  card):     Tool  accounts  made  out  in  duplicate.     FORM  II 

(left  card}:    Notice  issued  on  back  of  FORM  I.    FORM  III  (right  card): 

"Breakage  slip"  which  places  responsibility  for  damaged  tools 

there,  unless  the  tool  is  broken.  In  that  event  he  hands 
in  a  ''breakage  slip"  (Form  III),  which  must  be  signed 
by  the  foreman,  in  addition  to  the  duplicate  slip.  It  is 
thus  possible  for  the  tool  room  keeper  to  receive  a  num- 
ber of  tools  at  once,  without  delaying  any  one,  and  he 
can  replace  the  tools  and  sort  out  the  slips  when  the 


192 PRODUCTION    METHODS 

rush  is  over.  When  a  tool  has  been  returned,  the  origi- 
nal slip  referring  to  it  is  removed  from  the  register  and 
refiled  with  the  duplicate  for  future  reference. 

A  tube  at  the  left  of  the  account  register  connects 
with  the  foreman's  cage  across  the  aisle.  When  a  man 
reports  one  job  as  finished  the  foreman  drops  a  slip  with 
the  workman's  number  and  the  number  of  the  job  he 
will  go  on  next  into  this  tube  and  a  light  air  pressure 
takes  it  to  the  tool  keeper's  desk.  He  then  starts  assem- 
bling the  tools  needed  for  the  next  job  at  once  and  there 
is  no  delay  when  the  workman  applies  for  the  tools. 

When  the  handling  of  the  more  expensive  equipment  is 
involved,  such  as  very  costly  jigs,  milling  fixtures  and 
other  special  tools  used  in  the  manufacturing  depart- 
ments, the  old  brass  check  system  is  apt  to  be  unsatis- 
factory. A  system  is  here  required  which  places  the 
responsibility  definitely  on  one  person  without  chance 
for  dispute  between  the  storekeeper  and  employee. 

A  large  eastern  automobile  company  had  to  contend 
with  this  situation  and  at  the  same  time  realized  that 
in  adopting  a  new  system  care  should  be  taken  to  avoid 
an  undue  amount  of  clerical  work  or  otherwise  this  might 
offset  the  advantages  to  be  gained.  They  finally  adopted 
a  scheme  somewhat  similar  to  the  one  just  described, 
except  that  the  form  which  is  used  in  place  of  the  check 
is  made  out  in  triplicate.  The  entries  of  the  number  of 
the  employee  taking  the  tool  from  the  store  room,  the 
number  of  the  part  for  which  the  tool  is  used  and  the 
inventory  number  of  the  tool,  together  with  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  tool  and  the  use  to  which  it  is  to  be  put,  is 
filled  in  by  the  storekeeper  and  the  employee  taking  out 
the  tool  signs  his  name  in  the  space  provided  against  the 
date  borrowed.  Below  this  there  is  a  similar  space  for 
the  date  of  return  and  signature  of  the  tool  storekeeper. 


KEEPING    TRACK    OF    TOOLS 193 

Each  of  the  carbon  copies  is  on  a  different  colored 
paper.  The  original  and  second  copy  are  retained  by 
the  storekeeper,  while  the  third  copy  is  handed  to  the 
person  signing.  The  first  copy  is  filed  by  the  storekeeper 
under  the  employee's  clock  number,  so  it  is  always  pos- 
sible to  ascertain  just  what  tools  he  has  out,  and  the  sec- 
ond copy  is  filed  under  the  tool  number,  so  that  present 
location  of  any  certain  fixture  or  tool  may  be  readily 
ascertained. 

In  returning  the  tool,  the  employee  takes  his  copy  of 
the  card  to  the  storekeeper  who  signs  for  the  tool  in 
the  space  provided.  The  two  cards  in  the  storekeeper's 
file  are  then  transferred  to  the  dead  file.  At  the  time 
of  signing  the  receipt  for  the  return  of  the  tool,  the 
storekeeper  also  notes  any  damage  done  while  in  the 
employee's  possession. 

As  the  storekeeper  has  signed  receipts  for  all  tools 
taken  out,  and  the  employee  has  similar  receipts  for  all 
returned  to  the  store  room,  any  dispute  can  be  very 
quickly  and  surely  settled,  as  the  responsibility  is 
squarely  placed. 


CTANDARDIZATION  of  methods,  equipment  and  pro- 
^  duction  is  the  ultimate  end  and  aim  of  practically  every 
American  factory  management. 

— R.  E.  Carpenter 

Of  The  Tt h-Peirce  Manufacturing  Company 


XXIV 

MAKING  QUALITY 
AUTOMATIC 

By  Daniel  V.  Casey 

ASSUMING  efficiency  of  equipment,  skill  of  opera- 
tives, correct  design  and  workmanship  in  tools  and 
product  as  manufacturing  essentials,  a  factory  system  of 
tests  and  inspection  recognizes  its  responsibilities  for 
four  elements  in  every  making  problem : 

1.  Eaw  materials:  Quality,  quantity,  suit- 
ability to  product. 

2.  Processes:      Standardization,   economy, 
insurance  against  failure. 

3.  Product  in  the  making:    Uniformity  at 
various  steps  secured  by  inspection  and  by 
physical  and  chemical  tests.    These  also  fur- 
nish a  check  on  processes. 

4.  Materials  consumed  in  manufacturing: 
Coal,  water,  tools,  tool  steel,  oils,  and  so  on. 

Alone,  an  inspection  system  is  a  clumsy  and  costly 
method  of  securing  uniformity  of  product.  The  trained 
eye  and  sensitive  fingers  of  an  expert  can  detect  and 
throw  out  any  article  or  part  which  falls  short  of  the 
accepted  idea  of  quality.  With  proper  gauges  he  can 
guarantee  fidelity  to  patterns.  Manipulation  of  compli- 
cated mechanism  will  inform  him  whether  it  has  the 
requisite  ease  of  operation  and  proper  adjustment  of 
parts.  A  defective  article  or  machine  he  sends  back  for 


INSURING    QUALITY 195 

correction— unless  faulty  material  is  involved,  when 
it  is  discarded.  Except  for  mechanical  errors — poor  de- 
signs or  careless  execution — he  can  suggest  no  remedy, 
however — no  method  by  which  loss  of  the  materials, 
labor,  power  and  overhead  outlay  locked  up  in  the  re- 
jected product,  can  be  avoided  next  time. 

LABORATORY  methods  which  are  brought  into  play 
in  the  factory  at  every  stage  of  production  to  make  sure 
that  the  final  product  will  be  up  to  specifications. 

Here  science  enters — to  supplement  the  cunning  of 
trained  eye  and  expert  hand  with  the  mathematically 
exact  test  of  the  chemical  and  physical  laboratory.  Raw 
materials,  processes,  product  in  various  stages,  all  the 
attendant  elements  which  influence  output,  are  put 
under  the  microscope  and  held  rigidly  to  the  standard 
which  experience  plus  experiment  dictates.  Where  in- 
spection stops,  casting  aside  the  defective  product,  the 
laboratory  takes  up  the  work,  probes  for  the  cause  of 
failure,  finds  it,  prescribes  the  remedy.  Not  only  the 
failures — the  happy  accident  which  results  in  some  ex- 
ceptional product  is  also  analyzed,  its  secret  discovered, 
and  so  a  new  standard  of  quality  set. 

Science  pays  her  own  way.  Before  we  established  a 
factory  laboratory  and  introduced  laboratory  methods  in 
certain  of  our  manufacturing  departments,  the  records 
show  that  between  the  raw  stock  and  finishing  rooms,  one- 
tenth  of  the  product  was  thrown  out  by  inspectors — 
usually  in  an  advanced  stage  of  manufacture.  This  was 
in  a  plant  now  fifty  years  old,  owning  the  best  steel 
formulas  English  and  American  genius  hadl  evolved 
and  employing  saw-makers  whose  fathers  and  grand- 
fathers had  followed  the  craft.  The  best  human  skill 
and  rule  of  thumb  could  do  was  nine  good  saws  in  every 


196 PRODUCTION    METHODS 

ten.  Since  the  laboratory  was  given  jurisdiction  over 
raw  materials  and  processes,  ninety-nine  saws  in  every 
hundred  pass  an  inspection  more  rigid  than  before. 

Our  system  of  tests  and  inspection  is  typical  of  the 
aid  which  scientific  methods  can  bring  to  a  highly  spe- 
cialized industry.  The  scrutiny  begins  when  a  car  of 
steel  blanks  or  sheets  is  trundled  up  to  the  stock  room 
door.  A  dozen  different  kinds  of  steel  may  be  repre- 
sented in  the  load — the  company  employs  forty  different 
formulas,  each  adapted  to  the  work  the  finished  saw  will 
do  —  and  the  various  kinds  are  weighed  and  gauged 
separately  as  they  are  unloaded,  in  order  to  check  the 
weights  furnished  by  the  mills.  Of  each  kind  a  sample 
is  cut  off  for  the  laboratory  and  put  into  an  envelope 
on  which  is  written  the  name  of  the  mill,  the  number 
of  the  formula,  the  size  and  gauge  of  the  sheet  or  blank 
and  the  date  of  the  shipment.  Though  unloaded,  the 
steel  is  not  put  into  stock  until  tested. 

All  saws  are  made  of  crucible  steel,  which  costs  three 
or  four  times  as  much  as  open  hearth  steel  and  can  not 
be  told  from  its  poor  relation  by  the  unaided  eye.  There 
are  good  and  bad  crucible  steels.  The  first  test,  im- 
mersion in  acid,  betrays  both  kind  and  quality.  If, 
after  several  immersions,  the  acid  has  made  but  few  pit- 
tings,  highest  grade  steel  is  indicated.  If  many  scat- 
tered pittings  and  grooves  show  under  the  microscope, 
it  is  crucible  of  second  or  third  grade,  for  each  melting 
modifies  the  quality  of  steel,  and  these  pittings  show 
that  scrap  was  used  in  its  making.  If  the  pittings  are 
comparatively  deep  and  arranged  in  regular  grooves  it 
is  evidence  that  the  sample  is  simply  a  good  quality  of 
the  open  hearth  product.  For  the  open  hearth  or  any 
but  the  first  grade  of  crucible  steel,  the  factory  has  no 
use,  and  the  mill  involved  is  notified  to  remove  it. 


INSURING    QUALITY 197 

If  the  sample  proves  an  acceptable  quality  of  crucible 
steel,  half  an  ounce  is  milled  off  and  subjected  to  chemi- 
cal tests  for  the  various  elements  demanded  by  the  for- 
mula. Formerly  carbon  was  the  only  element  consid- 
ered important,  but  experience  showed  that  even  with 
the  right  proportion  of  carbon,  sometimes  steel  would 
not  take  the  right  temper.  A  series  of  tests  of  samples 
taken  both  from  perfectly  hardened  and  from  deficient 
saws  established  the  fact  that  the  best  of  a  certain 
kind  were  uniform  in  chemical  constituents,  while  the 
discards  showed  some  element  of  the  best  either  lacking 
or  in  excess.  The  formula  of  the  best  saws  was  adopted, 
therefore,  as  the  standard,  and  the  mills  were  required 
to  furnish  blanks  or  sheets  conforming  to  that  quality. 
In  like  manner  the  formula  for  each  kind  of  saw  made 
was  revised  after  a  conclusive  series  of  experiments,  and 
failure  in  the  tampering  room  was  reduced  from  one  in  a 
hundred  to  one  in  a  thousand  blanks.  Moreover,  the 
entire  product  was  brought  up  to  the  standard  of  the 
saws  before  regarded  as  exceptional. 

Revision  of  these  standard  formulas  has  taken  place 
on  an  average  every  six  months.  Whenever  current  dis- 
coveries in  the  properties  of  medium-priced  alloy  steel 
suggested  a  new  element  which  might  increase  the  effi- 
ciency of  any  saw,  testa  were  made  and,  if  successful,  the 
formula  was  changed.  Salesmen  in  the  field  were  in- 
structed to  look  out  for  old  saws  which  had  given  re- 
markable service  and  to  send  samples  of  them  for 
analysis.  Unusual  steel  combinations  were  sometimes 
found  in  these  veteran  tools;  and  the  knowledge  went 
towards  the  improvement  of  the  company's  various 
brands.  When  you  furnish  saws  to  slice  up  timbers  aa 
diverse  in  character  as  oak,  cork,  pine,  redwood,  ma- 
hogany and  teak— when  one  mill  handles  frozen  logs, 


198 PRODUCTION    METHODS 

another  seasoned  timber,  a  third,  trees  full  of  sap  and 
water-soaked — when  one  saw  rotates  twelve  hundred 
times  a  minute,  the  next  travels  a  mile  in  twenty  sec- 
onds over  pulleys,  like  a  monstrous  belt,  and  a  third 
spoils  holidays  for  a  farmer's  son — when  bone,  steel, 
brass  and  plaster  as  well  as  wood  must  be  chewed  up  at 
top  speed — when  you  must  meet  these  widely  varying 
demands,  the  discoveries  in  alloy  steel  will  hardly  keep 
pace  with  the  wants  of  your  customers. 

INSPECTION  must  be  thorough  if  customers  are  to  be 
*.  retained  by  giving  satisfaction  and  also  if  you  are  to 
get  right  goods  from  your  own  suppliers. 

Absolute  uniformity  of  constituents  is  not  commer- 
cially possible  even  in  the  crucible  steel  within  certain 
limits,  therefore  variations  from  formula  must  be  per- 
mitted if  the  cost  of  materials  is  not  to  become  pro- 
hibitive. To  effect  these  irregularities,  modifications  in 
processes  have  been  worked  out  to  correct  excess  or  de- 
ficiency of  certain  elements.  If  analysis  of  samples 
shows  a  consignment  too  high  in  carbon,  for  instance,  the 
lot  is  put  into  a  separate  bin  and  labeled.  Requisitions 
filled  from  this  bin  are  sent  through  the  factory  as  spe- 
cial orders,  with  a  tag  noting  the  variation  for  the 
foreman  of  the  hardening  and  tempering  room.  With 
the  tag  for  guide,  the  foreman  manipulates  his  processes 
so  as  to  draw  more  of  the  temper  from  these  saws  after 
hardening  and  thus  restores  them  to  the  normal  standard 
of  hardness.  For  steel  lacking  in  carbon,  the  reverse  of 
this  process  is  employed — repeated  experiments  having 
established  the  exact  results  which  various  temperatures 
will  produce  in  the  saws. 

This  argues  the  most  delicate  regulation  of  the  harden- 
ing and  tempering  processes,  and  suggests  the  second 


INSURING    QUALITY 199 

objective  of  a  system  of  tests  and  inspection — standard- 
ization of  processes  with  its  accompanying  economies  in 
labor,  power,  materials  and  its  insurance  against  fail- 
ures on  important  or  rush  jobs. 

During  processing,  every  saw  is  inspected  before  it  is 
passed  along  to  the  smithing  anvils.  If  it  be  a  hand 
tool,  the  inspector  bends  and  twists  it  to  make  sure  of 
temper  and  hammers  it  to  prove  its  hardness.  If  it  be  a 
circular,  band  or  cross-cut,  he  has  other  tests  with  set 
gauges  as  inform  atives.  When  a  saw  lacks  snap  or 
flexibility,  it  is  condemned  and  sent  to  the  laboratory  for 
a  post-mortem  which  will  determine  its  ailment  and  elimi- 
nate the  cause.  Of  the  saws  passed  by  the  inspector  as 
perfect,  a  certain  proportion  of  each  lot  is  subjected  to 
further  tests— physical,  microscopical  and  chemical — in 
the  laboratory,  to  guard  against  defects  which  might  be 
overlooked  by  the  inspectors.  And,  as  a  final  measure  of 
protection,  the  fuel-gas  supplied  to  the  furnaces  is  tested 
at  least  once  a  week — or  oftener  if  the  bosses  report 
any  falling  off  in  quality  or  fuel  value. 

This  is  inspection  directed  toward  perfection  of  prod- 
uct by  standardizing  of  processes.  Increased  economy  of 
processes  is  a  separate  aim  that  is  never  lost  sight  of. 
Practically  every  operation  comes  under  the  chemist 's 
observation. 

One  example  will  indicate  what  intelligent  study 
along  this  line  will  accomplish.  For  the  first  grade  of 
circular  saws,  inserted  teeth  of  tool-steel  provide  the  cut- 
ting points.  Drop-forged,  these  inserted  teeth  are  hard- 
ened, tempered  and  annealed  before  machining  and 
sharpening.  For  years,  they  came  to  the  machines 
covered  with  a  scale  which  ruined  the  edge  of  tools  after 
a  few  operations.  Investigation  showed  that  this  scale 
was  formed  in  the  annealing  bath  of  powdered  charcoal 


200 PRODUCTION     METHODS 

and  that  it  was  due  to  oxidization  coming  from  exposure 
to  the  air.  The  chemist  suggested  air-tight  boxes  as  con- 
tainers of  the  charcoal  dust — and  the  scale  disappeared, 
cutting  the  cost  of  the  machining  operations  in  half. 
Knowledge  of  chemical  combinations  such  as  this  is  out- 
side the  province  of  factory  foremen  until  the  chemist 
points  the  way. 

The  organization  of  the  works  makes  each  of  the  chief 
departments — circular  band,  cross-cut,  hand-tools,  the 
foundry  and  machine  shop  for  power-saw  equipments 
and  the  handle  mill — a  self-contained  factory. 

Each  of  these  departments  has  its  own  inspectors  who 
scrutinize  the  results  of  the  operations  for  which  the  de- 
partment is  responsible. 

There  is  a  final  inspection  before  packing  and  transfer 
to  finishing  stock,  or  in  case  of  a  special  order,  to  the 
shipping  department.  Analogous  tests  are  made  of  ten- 
sion, gauge  and  other  vital  qualities  in  hand-tools,  cir- 
culars and  hand  saws. 

Thorough  inspection  insures  the  customer  of  receiving 
satisfaction  in  every  one  of  your  deliveries.  It  lowers 
your  production  cost  by  doing  away  with  a  large  per- 
centage of  wasted  materials.  The  laboratory  test  of  raw 
materials,  finally,  saves  you  from  the  danger  of  receiving 
unsatisfactory  goods  from  your  own  suppliers. 


THE  first  requisite  of  an  inspector  is  the  possession  of  a 
sound  and  far-reaching  judgment.  He  must  recognize 
no  favorites  and  must  refuse  to  pass  any  work  not  up  to  spec- 
ifications and  drawings.  He  must  be  able  to  judge  the  im- 
portance of  various  parts  as  compared  to  the  whole,  to  dis- 
criminate between  different  classes  and  qualities  of  work,  as 
well  as  to  look  out  for  errors  and  mistakes  on  any  of  the  draw~ 
ings. 

—Frederic  A.  Parkhurst 


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